


Parity

by katydid3145



Series: Remittance Series [4]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-11-05 13:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 89,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11014776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katydid3145/pseuds/katydid3145
Summary: Most of the Rogues had grown up knowing the world was out to get them. Knowing that they were hated, looked down upon, seen as less than human. The particle accelerator gave them abilities, but it didn't change who they were. Nor did it relieve the baggage they carried, or the doubts that plagued them.The distrust and fear that still followed them, no matter where they tried to hide.





	1. Chapter 1

When Roy looked back on his life, on the whole of his accomplishments, he often focused on the more artistic moments. The first time he was praised for his art. The first time he sold a painting. The first crime he got away with. Meeting the Rogues and all the heists they had managed to pull off. Beating the Flash and the cops.

He considered those matters of high art as well.

He couldn't have ever imagined that his single greatest accomplishment would come down to, not his artistic ability, but his ability to start a fire.

But here he was.

Hunched over a small pile of wood and paper, both of which were covered in dust and what was most likely some type of killer mold. Hands shaking. Water dripping from his hair down onto not only his hands, but also the match he was desperately trying to protect.

The paper stuffed in between the wood was stained. But he was certain it wasn't from the rain. He hadn't noticed it at first, when Digger had grabbed a magazine off a nearby table and started stuffing the paper in between the logs. Those small stains that seemed to spread into everything.

Digger should be doing this. The man had more survival skills than Roy would ever accumulate over the course of his entire life.

But Digger had stood up to grab the matches off the mantle of the fireplace and had promptly passed out on the ground.

Massive amounts of blood loss, exhaustion, and endless days without sleep tend to do that to a person. The man was still bleeding sluggishly on the ground beside Roy. His wounds having reopened…at some point. Digger needed medical attention.

Roy turned his attention back to the wood.

First things first.

Start the damn fire.

It seemed like every time he tried to strike the match his hands would slip. The little splinter of wood would bend or break. He tried to keep using the head of the match, even when it was just a nub. Get couldn't get his damn hands to work like they should. How hard was it to strike a match?

Even when he was successful, and there would be a sudden spark, the wood wouldn't catch. The paper would remain frustratingly untouched by the small flame.

He was getting low on matches. Only having several in the box when he started. He didn't want to see how many chances he had wasted. Didn't want look at the physical remains of his failures littered on the ground around him.

It didn't help that he kept feeling his eyelids slipping closed. Every few moments his eyes would move without his permission, his head longing to lay on the ground. To just be able to rest…

He had taken the matches from the mantle when Digger had passed out and then forgotten why he was holding them.

57 hours was too long to go without sleep.

He tried to shake off the exhaustion. Tried to focus on his current repetitive motions. But found himself being oddly soothed by it.

Strike the match.

Create a spark.

Watch as the paper resists the flame.

Watch the match burn out.

Start over.

Was it because his hands were wet? Was it because the magazine paper was stained or should he try to find a book or something else to burn? Though that would require him to move from his hunched position, and if he did that, he might end up like Digger.

If Mick was here…

Roy shook off that thought.

He'd seen Mick light a thousand fires in the years he had known him. And not always with his gun, though it had been his preferred method. The man had made it seem so easy. Like the fire just jumped from his fingers. Like the fire belonged to Mick.

He didn't know how long he sat there. He was ignoring everything else happening around him. Those LexCorp drones could be hovering above his head right now and he would never even notice. He was focused. This was important. He had to do this.

Start a fire.

Don't freeze to death.

Don't let the others freeze to death.

He could do this. Cave men figured out how to do this for god's sake.

Light you worthless piece of…

He takes a deep breath. Tries to refocus.

It's just a fire. He can light a fire. He can do this. He can… Please. Just one little…

The paper catches. Roy stares at it dumbfounded for a moment. His hands had already pulled out another match, already starting the process over again. His body taking too long to catch up to the idea that he had actually accomplished his goal.

He blows lightly on the paper. He doesn't really know why. He'd seen people do it in movies when trying to start a fire. And it always worked for them.

After another eternity, the wood finally catches. Roy almost cries in relief.

He started a fire.

He looks at it for a moment, feels the heat start to build around his face. It's so warm…

His head almost slams into the fireplace before he catches himself.

He forces his eyes open. He can't sleep. Not yet. There's…there's other things he was supposed to do.

Axel is still unconscious in the car.

Digger had managed to carry in Lisa, and Roy had all but dragged Mark through the door of the remote cabin. The rain outside had been relentless. In the time it took to walk from the car to the door, they had all been soaked through. The freezing cold seeping deep into their bones, from the combination of rain and sleet. Digger was supposed to go back for Axel, but had fallen asleep.

Like an ass.

Roy sighed. The mercenary had been shot. Twice.

If anyone deserved the rest it was Digger.

Especially since he had taken one of those bullets when protecting Shawna.

Roy looks at the three of them. Digger unconscious on the floor. Lisa and Mark laying half on top of each other on a couch that only barely qualifies for the description. Loveseat might be a better name. Why anyone would buy a loveseat instead of a couch, if there was room for a full size couch, which there clearly was here…what was he supposed to be doing? Moving the couch? Roy found himself staring at the floral pattern, he can only image that it must be doubly horrific in color.

He shook his head slightly. Damn it, focus. He started the fire.

That was only step one.

Roy struggles to his feet. He has to get Axel out of the car. His left knee twinges, the pain so dull and muted he forgets that he should be screaming. Should be lying down with his leg propped up, letting the wound heal. He wasn't in any condition to be carrying Axel, he could barely stand without wanting to fall back down and curl up into fetal position.

But he was conscious.

Which was more than any of the other Rogues could claim.

He drug himself back out into the downpour. At once cursing it for being so cold, and thanking it for being the only thing that saved them from being caught. The sleet causing the drones to have to fall back, the rain and clouds blocking any satellite surveillance.

It takes him several tries to get the door open. The handle fumbling between his unresponsive fingers.

Axel looks pale. The kid was always pale, but now he was damn near ghost like. He's shivering and Roy mentally apologizes to the kid. Axel is still dry. Things are only going to get worse for him for a bit. Roy puts his hands under the kid's armpits and drags him into the house.

He winces when he drops the kid inside the cabin. Axel's head bounces off the wood floor. He should have tried to be more gentle, but his hands had simply lost the ability to grip the kid with anything resembling strength.

He…he should go out and hide the car. Move it so it isn't so noticeable. He still didn't know what happened to the others. Being separated after that last attack had…

He can barely stand, he can feel himself getting weaker by the second. He brought Axel inside, that had been step two. There was still more to do.

He'd started a fire. That…that was supposed to make things warmer, wasn't it. But he was still shivering, his hands still almost numb. He looked down at his shirt and pants, they were completely soaked through. The fire wouldn't be enough if they didn't get out of their clothes. He limps over to Digger and lowers himself to the ground beside him.

The hoodie the mercenary was wearing takes a few tries to pull off. But Roy manages it eventually. There are no more boomerangs hidden on the unconscious man. He'd used the last of them against those cops…yesterday? Or was that two days ago? Everything had run together in one endless moment of fear and adrenaline.

He starts on the man's shoes and socks, then pulls off Digger's pants. He finds himself incredibly thankful the man was unconscious. He can only imagine what Digger would say about this situation.

Roy thinks about rolling Digger closer to the fire. He dismisses the idea almost as soon as it forms. His arms barely had the energy to pull off the man's shoes. Not to mention the fact that he might push Digger too close and accidentally set him on fire. So he just checks on the bandage on Digger's leg and the one on his shoulder. There's nothing he can really do for either of those.

He moves slowly over to Lisa, pushing Mark off of her so that he slumps against the other side of the loveseat.

He's got her shirt off and is working on her shoes when he feels a hand on his head. Take him a second to understand it means she's awake.

He'd be embarrassed in any other situation. Undressing her like this, but he finds he can't really find it in him to feel anything right now.

"…buy a girl a drink first Roy…"

He doesn't even pretend like he can manage the muscles necessary to force a smile. So he just keeps trying to get her shoes off. He's glad they're just gym shoes and not some complicated straps or…

"I got it Roy. Help Axel. I'll get Mark."

Takes Roy another minute to get her shoe off. Then a few more to realize she had been speaking to him.

He finally looks up at her. Her hair is matted down. Her normally dark brown locks have been dyed blond. Her hair so short, it's hard to tell the color in this light. Which apparently had been the point when she explained it to him.

There is exhaustion in her eyes. And in her voice. But he finds himself still following her command.

"Alright."

He doesn't think he has the energy to stand and then kneel back down again. So he just semi-crawls over to Axel. Axel's sweater is heavy against his skin. The thick material seems to weigh more than the kid does.

He finally manages to strip Axel down. He feels the cold so much more acutely over here. The warmth of the fire doesn't appear to spread this far. It's not until he feels water on his face that he realizes he never closed the front door. Rain is pooling at the entryway. The three feet it would take for him to move enough to close it seems insurmountable.

Thankfully Lisa saves him the additional agony. She walks over to the door and slams it shut. The sound of the storm outside continues to rage on.

None of the other Rogues have so much as stirred.

She helps him out of his jacket. He fumbles with his belt buckle but she just makes a small sound and undoes it for him.

If anyone was awake they might say something about the ridiculousness of the situation. Of all of them laying around in their underwear.

Even conscious he doesn't know if anyone would comment. It had been too close this time. They were all so tired and scared and…

"They should have been here before us."

Roy doesn't know why he says it. He knows that Lisa would have realized the second she woke up. Would have noticed the absence of her brother, and Mick, and Shawna. Would be calculating all the places they might have ended up. What could have gone wrong.

"I know."

She doesn't offer anything else. No reasons. No 'they must have had to hole up somewhere until the storm passed.' Or 'they'll be here any minute.' She just puts an arm around his shoulders and helps him limp back towards the fire. She's put a pillow under Digger's head and Mark isn't lying at an awkward angle any more. Roy glances towards where Axel is laying sprawled behind the couch.

He should offer to help move Axel…

"I'll get him Roy. You get some sleep."

He wants to argue. He really does. He knows Lisa had gone just as long without sleep as he had. The last few hours in the car ride here not withstanding.

He can see all the bruises and cuts and scratches and pains she's been hiding underneath her clothes. She raises an eyebrow at him when she sees him staring.

"Trust me sweetheart, you look worse."

He supposes that's true. He glances down. Bruises seem to cover his entire torso. Shawna had thought his ribs were only cracked not broken. Hadn't even had time to wrap them before they had to start running again. The wound on his leg, the all encompassing bruise that swallowed his knee. What was that one from again? He vaguely remembers…glass shattering?

Roy starts to lie down. A pillow magically appearing on the ground behind his head.

"Roy, sweetie. I promise I'll let you sleep for the rest of the night and all through tomorrow if you want, but I need you to answer a few questions for me first ok?"

"Ok."

"Did Digger say if he saw any sign of us being followed?

"No. Thinks we were clear."

"Ok. That's real good. Just one more thing…"

She's looking at him oddly. She's been doing it since she woke up. Roy had figured it had to do with the situation. With the exhaustion and the pain and all the shit they'd been through. But now he can see it's something different. There's…concern. More than just for his bruises and cuts.

"Did you have to use…did you use that aspect of your powers you promised you never would?"

Roy glances up at her.

Did he?

He tries to recall the events that led up to them making to the cabin.

They were surrounded in Utah. Cops everywhere, drones and helicopters flying overhead. Random people on the street trying to cash in on the bounty. Taking pictures or trying to slam their trucks into the Rogue's car. Everywhere they turned they were trapped. Being forced off the road. Running to find another way out…

Roy remembered using his powers. Remembered people scrambling in fear. Remembered this…this one asshole who put a knife to Mark's throat. There was blood running down Mark's neck…

Then the guy wasn't there anymore…and…and then Roy was in a car. And they were outrunning the cops. And he kept using his powers on anyone who so much as glanced at them. And…

"I don't remember. Why?"

"Nothing. It's probably that you're just tired is all. Get some sleep ok?"

Roy nods.

There were several times where he had tried to use his powers and it had taken him a few tries. His eyes had felt cold and…

Exhaustion.

That's all it was.

He just needed to sleep. That's what they all needed. Just some sleep.

Some rest. Finally be able to close their eyes for just a moment.

* * *

He could feel a blanket wrapped around him. He could hear the fire crackling just above his head. He was going to kiss Lisa when he finally managed the strength to move.

That moment was not now.

He opened his eyes blearily. He should try to at least see if there was anything that had woken him.

Digger was laying on the loveseat. Mark was on the floor, a blanket wrapped around him as well. He couldn't see Lisa or Axel from his position, and try as he might, he couldn't force his body to actually muster up the energy to do more than tilt his head slightly.

The sun was shining. Which meant it had to have been at least six hours since Roy fell asleep.

Which was something of a record these past few weeks. He had gone well over two days without sleep before reaching the cabin. But he didn't think he had gotten more than four consecutive hours a night since they'd made their mad escape from Metropolis.

They had all been beyond exhausted. Constantly moving. Running. Hiding. Fighting. Slipping away by the skin of their teeth. Their injuries ignored in the face of having to keep moving no matter what.

They couldn't get caught.

If they got caught, it was all over.

Luthor would either get new guinea pigs, or they would be killed by an angry mob. Either way, they were dead. And no one would give a damn.

The sound of floorboards squeaking prompted him to attempt to move his head again. It didn't respond this time. So he just lay there and waited for whatever made the noise to come to him. After a few minutes, Shawna appeared in his line of sight. She bent over and started checking on the bandage on Digger's leg.

Roy felt his eyes slipping closed again but found a sudden untapped reserve of energy.

"Shawna?"

His voice was little more than a whisper. But it was more than he had thought himself capable of.

She glanced over and gave him a smile.

"Hey. Give me a second and I'll come check you out."

She goes back to wrapping Digger's leg. Roy takes a moment to look her over. She looks the same as when he last saw her. Exhausted. On the verge of collapse. Standing up by sheer force of will.

"Snart? Mick?"

"Both sleeping. Everyone's pretty much dead to the world at this point. This place is safe as far as we can tell. Snart scoped it all out after you guys got here…"

Roy was certain that everything she was saying was important. But he was having so much trouble focusing on the words.

"Hm."

She's kneeling beside him now. She puts a hand on his forehead.

"Doesn't look like you've got a fever."

Her hand lingers on his forehead and he suddenly wishes he could move his arms. He focuses on it. He doesn't manage much but his hand slips out from underneath the covers.

"You slept yet?"

She smiles slightly, removing her hand.

"I got a few hours yesterday. I was just finishing up checking on everyone."

Roy could see the lines around her eyes, the slowness of her movements. She'd been keeping Mick alive since Metropolis, then Digger got shot, then pretty much all of them were injured in someway or another.

Roy's hip was screaming at him rather loudly. Reminding him that he wasn't some teenager who could sleep on a wooden floor and not be feeling it for days.

Still, it wasn't enough to be able to convince him to actually stand up.

He finally manages to find the energy to move his arm.

He lifts the edge of his blanket slightly.

Shawna smiles again. She doesn't say anything, just slips underneath the blanket and lays her head on the pillow next to his. He does his best to cover her with the blanket. She deserves to be warm.

* * *

 

There's an odd sound. It takes Roy a moment to realize he has heard it somewhere before. It's familiar. But not something he recognizes immediately. He finally gets the idea to open his eyes to try to find out the source of the sound.

He blinks, not only at the light streaming in from the window, but at the sight in front of him.

Axel is standing almost over top of him and Shawna. Staring down at them with an odd look. Roy focuses on the object in Axel's hands.

"Is that a Polaroid camera?"

The piece of once cutting edge technology in Axel's hands is now spitting out a photo.

"Right? How freaking retro is this? I mean look. A picture! And you're supposed to shake it right? That's what that old song said right, shake it like a Polaroid picture?"

Axel begins to dance to his own humming while shaking the photo.

Roy wonders if he is actually awake. This would be a very odd dream.

"You awake this time?"

Mark is sitting at a table, in what Roy has to assume is the kitchen. Axel had been blocking his view, but now he can see Mark sitting with a cup of water in his hands.

Roy thinks he might have the strength to pull himself out from underneath the covers, so he supposes he is finally truly awake.

He extradites himself from the blankets, careful not to jostle Shawna's head on the pillow. His first attempt at standing is met with a sharp pain radiating down his left knee.

Shit.

Forgot he had jammed that thing running. Or was it still healing from when their car crashed in Arizona? A combination of both most likely

"Easy there old timer, let me help you. I bet I could earn a Boy Scout badge for this. Helping an Elderly Meta Badge."

Roy would have denied Axel's help if he thought he would be able to stand without it.

Instead he took the kid's hand and let him guide him over towards another chair at the table. Roy all but collapsed into it.

Mark, being the saint that he is, pushes Roy two pills and a glass of water.

Roy swallows them, hoping they will be able to dull some of the pain his entire left side is feeling.

"You going to let him call you an old man like that?"

"If I didn't think I was two seconds from falling apart, I might be offended. I feel like an old man."

Mark hands Roy's shirt and jacket to him. Roy slips them on. It's taken him this long to realize he is already wearing his pants.

Mark's giving him a look.

"You alright?"

"My leg's still…"

"Don't mean the leg, I mean…" Mark makes a motion with his hands towards his head and eyes.

Roy has a vague memory of Lisa asking him about his powers.

"I'm just tired."

"Right. Well, supposed to keep an eye on you when you woke up, just in case."

"Hm."

Roy tried to remember what it had felt like when his powers had turned against him. Tried to remember if it was this same weariness that he felt now.

"You guys think we'll stay here long? I mean, don't get me wrong, sleeping was super awesome. But like…this place is a dead zone. We can't do anything even remotely related to the 21st century."

Roy stared at Axel for a moment. Despite his own proclamation that the cabin was within a dead zone, he was holding a cellphone up in the air, like reception might spontaneously just exist in the far corner of the room if he believed hard enough.

Roy honestly had no idea how long they were going to stay here. He had been so focused on just making it this far.

That's all they had to do. Get to Mick's cabin in Montana and they would be safe. They would be able to rest. To regroup. To finally be able to take a moment to breathe. Instead of having to be constantly on guard. Constantly not sleeping.

It had never even crossed his mind that they would get to the cabin and not be safe. That they would be followed. Or somehow the cops would track them here.

Just get to Montana.

Get to the cabin.

They'd be able to stop running once they made it.

Roy didn't think he'd be able to run much longer. He was surprised they hadn't died in Arizona. Or in Utah. Or North Dakota.

They'd had to take so many alternate routes that it had taken them much longer to get here than it should have.

But they were here now. In this, half run down, incredibly small cabin in the middle of nowhere.

No power.

No running water.

No food.

"Hopefully it won't be too long."

Roy turns back to Mark.

Mark shrugs.

"Snart's still sleeping. Lisa's scoping out the area. Making sure everything's good. Though considering there isn't anything around for 50 miles I think we will be alright."

Roy finally makes the effort to look at his surroundings. The cabin is more modern than the one he had outside Central. But there were signs of disrepair. Signs that the whole thing might just collapse if a strong enough breeze were to come through.

The drive towards the cabin had been…fuzzy at best. He remembered the road turning from pavement to gravel to dirt to grass. Only Digger navigating by the map Mick had made them did he continue to believe they were headed in the right direction. He had driven over fledgling pine trees growing in the middle of the path on multiple occasions. He couldn't imagine something could still be classified as a road if there were trees growing in the middle of it.

When they finally reached the end, he couldn't say how long they had been driving. It had been dark, and he had been struggling to stay awake. Having to wake up Digger to help navigate more times than he liked to admit. Mark, Lisa, and Axel all passed out in the back. Succumbing to their exhaustion and injuries after their last run from the cops.

Roy had been certain, many times over the past few weeks, that it was the end for them. That they didn't have another miraculous escape up their sleeves.

Roy wasn't entirely certain he wasn't just hallucinating all this.

Or he was dead.

And hell was some bizarre reflection of life. Where everything just felt…slightly wrong. Like at any moment the quiet would be ripped away and replaced with fire and screaming.

Roy sighed and rubbed his eyes. He could sleep for another week and he didn't know if that would be enough to make the exhaustion go away.

"It's safe here?"

"Safe as anywhere is for us. Snart, Mick, and Shawna teleported up into Canada, then drove back down across the border. Snart did something or other, making it look like we were trying for Alaska so we could cross over to Russia."

"Hm."

"You sure you're not…"

Roy just shook his head slightly.

"Just tired."

He couldn't feel his powers at the moment. He didn't even try to access them. When they had crossed over into Wyoming and had to pass through that checkpoint, Roy had attempted to access his powers and his eyes had felt…odd.

There wasn't that familiar feeling like this eyes were burning with rage. Or that strange feeling on the rare occasion that he used happiness on someone.

He hadn't been able to access his powers. Hadn't been able to help when the cops had set up a roadblock not two miles away because Roy hadn't been able to calm the lady who spotted them down.

He had written it off at the time. A side effect of his powers being maxed out. He had never gotten to that point before. Had never had to hold them like that, constantly holding people in his power for hours until he was certain they had escaped.

Roy turned slightly in his chair, looking towards the two doors at the back. Snart and Mick must be back there.

"How's Mick?"

"Same."

It was a familiar refrain. Even as the man's wounds had started to heal, it felt like they were constantly asking the question.

Mick's face had healed relatively well. No permanent damage to his right eye.

His hands…

His hands were burned so badly he could barely use them. They hadn't had the chance to go to a real doctor. To take a moment to slow down, to figure out what they could do to help heal them. They had just been running.

Roy knew that they all remembered the rules. That when they were on a job, any pain, any fight, had to wait until they were safe.

Roy wasn't looking forward to the explosion from Mick now that they were finally at the cabin.

The tension between Mick and Snart had built with every passing day. Every day that Snart didn't remove the collar from his neck. Every day that Shawna checked Mick's hands and they didn't move when he tried to move them.

Snart had been acting…more reserved than normal. If it wasn't for the fact that they were literally all stuffed into cars for the past few weeks, Roy figured that Snart would have been keeping himself as far away from the rest of them as possible.

It wasn't just the fear of his powers. There was something else eating away at Snart. Something else weighing the man down.

Roy had been too exhausted, too caught up in his own pain, to try and determine what Snart was feeling.

It wasn't just that the man wasn't wearing his parka anymore. That he didn't have the cold gun. That he wasn't using his powers.

The man had barely spoken.

Which was the largest red flag of all. And when he did speak, it was succinct. Barking out orders instead of revealing the plan. There was no grandiose speeches, no puns, no theatrics.

Leonard Snart appeared to have left Captain Cold behind somewhere along the way.

Maybe back in Metropolis.

Roy stared at Mark for a moment.

Mark just raised his eyebrow.

"Same too."

"Hm."

Roy felt a sudden desire to stand up. To walk outside and figure out their surroundings. Which was ridiculous. They were in the woods somewhere. He would no more be able to figure out which way to go than he would be able to spontaneously see in color.

The door swung open slowly, and Lisa entered. She was wearing a flannel jacket that was four or five sizes too big for her. Her short hair hidden under a trucker's cap.

It was the strangest look on her.

No gold. No makeup.

And yet, somehow, she still one of the most elegant people he had ever met. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him sitting at the table. He nodded to her slightly.

"Welcome back."

Axel was now standing on the kitchen counter, raising his phone above the small window.

"Axel, get down before you break your neck."

Lisa looked at Roy for a moment.

"Finally awake I see. Shawna and Digger still out?"

Roy sort of waved towards the two unconscious members.

Lisa nodded then sat down on the rickety folding chair beside Roy.

"Anything happening out there?"

"No. Still no sign that anyone has seen us. We might actually have escaped relatively intact."

No small miracle considering how many times they almost got caught. Roy wasn't entirely certain how many times it was exactly. Or where they were. He rubbed his eyes again.

"How are you feeling Roy?"

"Dude why do you guys keep asking him that? Like, he's doing better than half the people…"

"Shut up Axel."

"Much better now that I've slept."

He was aware that Lisa wasn't pushing the fact that he hadn't answered the question yet. But she seemed willing to drop it for now.

"There's food in the car. Axel, Mardon, be a couple of dears and go get it for me would you."

Or not.

Mardon grabbed Axel's arm before the kid could ask another question and all but drug him out of the cabin.

She sat down in the vacated chair and stared at him a few moments. He was able to meet her eyes for most of the evaluation.

"This is different."

Roy raises an eyebrow at her tone. It wasn't a question. It was a statement of fact. Whatever was wrong with him wasn't the same as last time.

"I don't know."

She sighed slightly.

"Ok. Well, whatever it is, we will deal with it like we have everything else."

"Ignoring it until it becomes a debilitating issue, then ignore it some more?"

She smirks.

"Hopefully we can…"

A noise from the floor draws their attention. Shawna is stretching out, her eyes opening slightly.

"What'd I miss?"

Lisa stands up with a smile.

"Food. I'll help the boys get it from the car. Be good to eat something other than food we stole from a gas station for a change. Not that the selection I have is much better."

Shawna keeps the blanket wrapped around her and wanders over to the kitchen. She sits in the chair next to Roy. She extends a part of the blanket so it covers his legs.

"Everyone still alive?" She asks, through a loud yawn. She scoots her chair closer and puts her head on his shoulder.

He smiles slightly at the familiarity of the motion.

"Thanks to you."

"Hmm, yea. I'm basically the best."

"Basically."

She hums slightly in agreement.

He can hear the muffled sound of Axel and Mardon talking. Their voices gaining in volume as they came closer to the door.

Roy closes his eyes for a moment. Letting the calm, the familiarity of it all, seep into his bones.

They made it to the cabin. They were safe for the moment. They could stop running and just breathe.

Even if it was only for a moment.

* * *

In one of his more profoundly drunken moments, a few seconds after launching a beer bottle at Len's head, Lewis had stopped and looked his son in the eyes. For a moment, Len thought the man might have suddenly realized what he had done. It was the first time he had done more than slap or the occasional punch. Len and his mother taking the brunt of his father's anger. Lisa still too small to be the subject of their father's ire for the most part. Except on the rare occasion where Len couldn't get her to stop crying quickly enough.

Len had never known a greater fear than when his father had drunkenly grabbed an 8 month old Lisa out of his arms. Len's heart had stopped. The way Lewis was gripping her arms so tightly. Making her cry harder. Screaming at him that she was too loud. How was he supposed to provide for the family if they kept him awake at all hours of the day?

It had been 10 am. And Lewis hadn't had a legal job in over a year.

Trying to explain that fact to his father had gotten his mother a bruised eye and Len a split lip.

Throwing beer bottles had become more commonplace after their mother died. But this…this had been the first time. They had both stared at each other. The sound of the glass shattering against the wall had stopped his father's shouting. Stopped his demands to know why dinner wasn't on the table, where the hell was Len's no good mother, why wasn't she doing her job? She had been at the grocery with Lisa. Lewis wasn't supposed to be home for another two hours. Apparently that didn't matter.

All that mattered was that he had already been drunk when he got home. That there was only one beer in the fridge. That Len had the audacity to not know what channel the football game was on.

He hadn't memorized the TV schedule.

So his father threw a beer bottle at his head.

Years later Len would of course realize it had nothing to do with football. And everything to do with his father being an unrepentant piece of human garbage.

He wasn't sure how long the silence lasted. Their odd staring contest keeping him rooted to the spot. He had been paralyzed. Unable to run, to turn away. Unsure if breaking eye contact would cause his father to suddenly realize that Len hadn't already started cleaning up the broken glass.

Eventually, his father started laughing.

It was a low sound. As though suddenly remembering a favorite joke. One he had heard a thousand times before but still elicited the same response. Still provided the same amount of humor as the first.

"Clean up that mess boy."

He was still chuckling as he sat down in his chair and flipped through the channels. He was almost back to the kitchen with the glass when his father called out.

"Bring me another beer."

Lying to his father would only delay the inevitable.

"There isn't anymore."

"Come here."

He dumped the glass in the trashcan then walked back towards his father's chair.

He was hoping that maybe Lewis was so drunk that he would forget why he had called him over.

"Your sister annoys you sometimes doesn't she?"

Len hesitated for a moment. He didn't know the right answer. Saying no, knowing that Lewis sometimes found Lisa annoying, would be to contradict him. Saying yes, might mean that Lewis was looking for an excuse to punish Lisa.

"No."

Lewis laughed again. That same dark laugh that kept sending fear spiking through Len's chest.

"Of course she does. Everyone will annoy you at some point. She's a baby. Crying all the time. Even your mom gets tired of her."

Len decided to stay silent. If Lewis got to the point, maybe Len could figure out a way to redirect his focus away from Lisa. If he had to bring up that there was no more beer maybe Lewis would…

"Your mom used to get tired of your crying the same way. Lying around in bed for hours at a time. Didn't realize how lazy she was until after she had you."

He doesn't bring up that his mother isn't lazy. That Lewis might be at least partially to blame for her "cloudy days", as she called them.

She had been smiling, but Len could swear he saw tears behind her eyes.

"You know baby, how sometimes when it's cloudy outside, you get sad? Because you can't play or do anything you want to do? And even driving to the store can be scary because of how hard the rain makes it to see?"

Len had nodded.

"Well, sometimes even if it's sunny outside, it feels like a cloudy day to me. And it's raining so hard that I can't see to drive to the store or pick you up from school. But they pass by baby. So don't you worry about it."

Len had spent a lot of his younger days worrying about it.

Len had to keep a careful eye on both of his parents during those times.

Lewis' eyes were still on the TV. Len got the feeling he might have forgotten that Len was even standing there. Len didn't risk walking away while his father was talking.

Disrespect like that wasn't tolerated in the Snart family home.

"Should have married Susan like my ma told me to. She wasn't as pretty as your mother but at least she would have kept a good home. Wouldn't have talked back to me, or given me two kids who don't know their place."

Lewis was building himself up to something. Len tried to stand as still as he could.

"But I had to have your mom because she was the prettiest. The best. Then she got stuck with you and she couldn't exactly turn down my marriage proposal."

Lewis reaches for a non-existent beer on the side table. He glares at the empty space for a moment and Len stops breathing.

"Can't even do the shopping right. I provide for this family and this is how she repays me."

Len could barely think through the fear that his mother and Lisa would walk through the door right now, with Lewis in this odd mood, and Len wouldn't be able to stop him.

"You'll understand one day."

Lewis finally turns his gaze towards Len.

"One day, you'll realize what I've had to go through. All the bullshit I've put up with. You're not doing good in school, have to take you along on jobs to justify keeping you around, as much food as you eat. Not like you're smart enough to do anything else. If you're lucky maybe you can make it as an enforcer with a Family."

Len wasn't doing well in school because he was never there. He had convinced several of his teachers that he had a recurring illness. Forging a few doctor's notes and excused absences from his parents. But he wasn't sure how long that was going to work. Eventually he would just have to drop out. It was the only way to keep an eye on his mom and sister.

"One day you'll be just like me."

Lewis had dismissed Len after that. The yelling had started back up when his mother got home. She ended up with a couple bruises in places the neighbors wouldn't see. Lewis had been getting better about that. Getting better at hurting them in places no one would ever know.

It had haunted Len for a long time.

"One day you'll be just like me."

He had read about how behavior got passed down through families. Checked dozens of books out of the library on psychology and behavior. He had sworn no matter what he did, no matter who he became, he would never be like his father. He would never hurt Lisa or his mother.

He had protected them both as best he could. After his mother died…

He had never broken that promise. Never hurt kids, was never violent with anyone who shared his bed, never let his anger affect anyone who didn't deserve it.

He never lost control.

Until Metropolis.

Until he almost killed his sister. And Mick. And the rest of the Rogues.

He remembers seeing Mick standing there. And then it was just a heat source. It was just something he felt compelled to reach out and take. He knows there was an explosion. Remembers the blast and the pressure. He didn't feel the heat of it.

Mick's jacket was on fire. His hands…his face…

He had kneeled down by his oldest friend. Not sure the man was even breathing. Certain he had killed him. The control he had cultivated for so long finally failing him when he needed it the most.

"One day you'll be just like me."

Lisa had come through the smoke and Len had almost run. She had been bleeding. He had barely been able to see anything else around him, the smoke and fire obscuring the destruction. But Lisa he had seen clear as day.

He had almost killed her. He had lost control and hurt his sister. If he had thought himself capable in the moment, he would have been throwing up. But then Lisa was standing next to him. She attempted to touch him, to comfort him, and he had flinched.

He can only imagine what he must have looked like for her to look at him with such sadness in her eyes.

She had grabbed his arm, keeping him in place. He had wanted to run, wanted to turn himself in. He had hurt Lisa. And Mick…

He doesn't remember much about how they got back to the mansion. He remembers being able to push it all down for a little while. Able to almost function.

But then the lack of sleep, and the pain, and the fear, and the guilt…

Staring at the ceiling of the cabin, idly touching the collar on his neck, he remembers his mother's last words to him.

"Don't worry baby. I have a plan. A way to get us free. It's going to work. I promise."

His mother hadn't promised that in years. And Len had long since been past the point where he thought she could stop Lewis. Where he thought calling the police would work. Where the cops and doctors wouldn't just look the other way when confronted with the evidence of his father's lack of control. If they had run, Lewis would have found them. If they tried to leave, Lewis would have forced them to stay.

It had been one of her "cloudy days", but he had been so focused on getting Lisa ready to go to their grandfather's house he hadn't been paying attention. Trying to move quickly, trying to keep Lisa smiling.

Lewis had called. He had lost his car keys and needed her to pick him up from the bar. She was going to drop them off at their grandfather's house, and then pick Lewis up.

He remembers the look in her eyes. The determination. She had meant it then.

She had tried to protect them.

It should have worked.

Years later, after reviewing the police files of the accident, it was only pure dumb luck that it hadn't. The rain from the past few days causing the ground to be muddy in that one exact spot. The ground just soft enough.

A concussion, instead of a cracked skull. A broken collar bone, instead of a broken neck.

Police never did figure out why she never hit the brakes. Or why neither of them were wearing their seatbelts.

She hit the pavement. Lewis hit the soft ground.

They had lived with their grandfather while Lewis recovered. It would be years before they got another reprieve. Only after their father was sent to jail for twenty years did Snart let the man's words slip away. Writing them off as impossible.

They had come back with a vengeance after Metropolis. Taunting him everywhere they went. Every time they were surrounded by the police, and he couldn't use his powers for fear he would lose control. Fear he would hurt his family.

Now that they were safe at the cabin. Now that he had a chance to focus, he was able to push his father's words to the back of his mind. He let his mother's take the foreground.

She had promised. And she had failed. He didn't hate her for it. As much as he wished he could. She had loved them both dearly. It must have been the only option she could see available to her. The only way to protect them from someone stronger than her. Someone who held all the cards.

He touched the collar at his neck again.

He would find a way to protect his family. Find a way to either rid himself of these powers…or the man who was taking away his control. Taking away his ability to protect his family.

And he wasn't going to leave anything to chance when he did.


	2. Chapter 2

Being a career criminal meant getting used to long periods of inaction. Of having to stay hidden, having to take time to let the heat die down. Eventually another criminal would come along and the cops would have to focus on them. Eventually some greater threat to public safety would be identified, then you could return to some semblance of your normal routine.

Eventually people would forget your face. Forget your bank robbery, in lieu of some greater story.

None of them had ever been in a situation where the heat was never going to die down. Where there was no amount of time that could pass where the cops might just forget what they looked like. Where the general public would move on to the next salacious crime, and you would fade from their consciousness.

It had been three weeks since they arrived at the cabin. The first week had been little more than recovering. Eating whatever food was first available, then going back to sleep. Attempting to stay awake for extended periods of time often ended in the need for a nap later in the day. Roy assumed this must be what it felt like to live in an old folks home. Falling asleep at the drop of a hat, no matter where they were. Everyone with aching bones and joints, shuffling from the couch to a chair to a bed and back again, attempting to find a position that doesn't cause more pain.

It was only as the days continued to pass that the frustrations with the situation began to build.

They were all becoming more and more agitated. Unable to find anything to relieve the boredom and repetition they were currently trapped in. Unable to even function as they normally would due to the extent of their injuries.

And the nature of their circumstances.

Even Roy found himself in that category. And it was becoming increasingly obvious that it had nothing to do with having no paints at his disposal.

It was true that he didn't have his normal outlet. His usual method of dealing with the building emotions.

Emotions…

He hadn't mentioned it to the others, but he still hadn't quite managed to get his powers to work.

There were more important things to worry about. Like food runs to the nearest town. A two and a half hour journey each way. During which the members left behind tried, rather unsuccessfully, to hide their nervousness. And their eventual relief when the person who went for the food returned.

Digger was still recovering from his injuries. Mick was still recovering from his injuries. They were all sporting bruises and scrapes and stab wounds. All feeling the itch to just be able to be fully functioning again, let alone be able to do anything about their current situation.

If Roy had any interest in painting landscapes, he supposed he would be hard pressed to find a more inspiring setting. There were snow capped mountains in the distance, pine trees dotting the horizon. A stream slowly meandering nearby. Apparently the cabin was just outside a National Forest, renowned for it's majestic beauty.

Axel swore he saw a moose yesterday.

Considering how little the kid knew about nature, it could have been a deer.

Or a raccoon.

"Dude I know what a trash panda is. I'm telling you, this was a freaking moose. With the big thingys and everything!"

Axel had been insistent. He had instinctively pulled out his cell phone to Google a photo of what he had seen. Only to shove it back into his pocket after remembering there was still no internet. He sulked for the rest of the day. Roy had thought about offering to draw a picture of one, only to also remember that they didn't have any spare blank paper.

Roy sat on the small log just outside the cabin and watched the sun begin to rise. He wasn't normally one to be awake so early if there wasn't a heist to be planned or if he had simply forgotten to fall asleep while painting.

He hadn't been able to sleep last night.

He couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly that had kept him up. He had gotten used to Digger's snoring. To Axel waking up to pee at least three times during the night. To Shawna rolling over and her hair smacking him in the face.

There were few options for sleeping in the cabin. Mick still had a room to himself, though his injuries were becoming less and less the reason. Lisa had commandeered the bedroom Snart had been sleeping in when they first arrived.

Snart had a tendency to sleep in the backseat of one of the cars.

Roy had briefly considered doing that with the other car. But found he didn't mind sleeping on the floor, sharing a pillow and blanket with Shawna. He could suffer the extra discomfort of the wooden floor. Lisa had bought a bunch of blankets and pillows the last time she was in town, so at least there was some bit of padding now. It wasn't the worst place to sleep, all things considered.

It was the inaction that was getting to most of them.

Generally when you go to ground, you still have ways to occupy your time. Money to count, police scanners to listen to, underground contacts to speak with.

At least there was usually a TV or even books to read.

Something to keep your mind working. To keep you from thinking about how quickly everything could turn. How fast the cops could find you. Could be knocking at your door.

There was nothing out here to distract them from just how screwed they were.

They couldn't run the risk of anyone noticing them. Couldn't steal from campgrounds or houses in case someone reported it. Couldn't go together into town to grab some books or take a TV. They barely had enough money to keep them in food for the next few weeks. The money Mick had stored here was all they had on them.

Lisa had gone into town several times already. Dressed in her trucker gear, she had bought as many supplies from each store as she could without it being suspicious. She had even raided the local gas station. There wasn't a Walmart or any kind of large chain. Somewhere where the sales clerks didn't pay attention, didn't notice one of a thousand people who came in each day. There were just mom and pop grocery stores out here, where the cashiers were annoyingly helpful. Where they remembered what you looked like. Where they asked you about your day and actually remembered what you told them.

Mark had gone yesterday, Lisa had started to be too familiar to the people in town. They had no choice but to switch it up. Change who went into town, in an effort to mask how many of them there were. All of the news reports and APBs stated that the Rogues traveled together.

The sun was just cresting the landscape now. A girlfriend of his from college had once spent hours trying to describe the beauty of it to him. How the different colors mixed and melded together.

How it was breathtaking. True beauty.

Roy had broken up with her not too long after that. It didn't have anything to do with the sunrise. More with the fact that he had a tendency to ignore her when he started painting. She had been of the mind, that as her boyfriend, he should always be focused on her.

It had been a rather doomed relationship from the start.

But he hadn't really cared, he had been young and she…

The door behind him swings open. He turns and is only slightly surprised to see Mick standing there.

Mick glances at Roy, nods, then walks towards the woods. Roy didn't say anything in response, just walked as Mick disappeared through the early morning mist.

Mick had been doing that lately. Just heading out into the woods and reappearing a few hours later.

None of them mentioned anything about it.

Especially since it seemed to cut down on the amount of fighting that was going on between Snart and Mick.

And Mick and Mardon.

And Mick and Digger.

And Mick and Axel.

And Mick and Shawna.

And Mick and Lisa.

Even Roy had found himself on the receiving end of Mick's frustrations from time to time.

Roy didn't begrudge the man his anger. Mick didn't have his normal outlets. At best, they could let him light the fire in the fireplace. A small pittance considering the fires the man usually started. Whether it was helping or not, Roy couldn't tell. A few days ago, Mick had sat and watched the fire for five hours straight. Just staring, unmoving, at the flames. He didn't seem to notice any of the others.

Mick wasn't built for inaction.

Especially forced inaction.

Snart had made an offhand comment to Mick the other day. When Mick was about to head out into the woods again.

"We can't be doing anything that might lead them to us Mick."

"You think I'm going out there and starting fires is that it? How the hell would I do that Snart?"

Mick had waved his still bandaged hands in Snart's face. The silence had been incredibly thick.

"You really think I'm that stupid? Is that it?"

"Mick, I was just…"

"Oh, I know exactly what you meant."

Mick had disappeared into the woods and Snart had retreated into Lisa's bedroom.

At least that one hadn't ended with Snart on the ground.

Which was increasingly becoming the way their fights would end.

The most disconcerting part was how unwilling Snart seemed to be to defend himself.

Roy turned back to the sunrise.

The sun was almost half way past the horizon now.

He wasn't sure he had ever willingly sat and watched a sunrise on his own before. It just didn't have any appeal to him. It was just a bright circle rising up out of shades of gray.

Maybe in color it was something else entirely. Maybe it truly was as majestic as Genevieve had told him it was. When he broke up with her, she had made a comment about how he had no passion. That his inability to see color wasn't the only way in which he was blind to the world around him.

He had called her an entitled, immature little girl and they never spoke again.

Which was fine. He hadn't thought about her again until just now. Forcing himself to sit here and watch the sunrise, not out of any aesthetic reason, but because he simply didn't have anywhere else to go.

Roy briefly thought about Hartley. About how the kid had been trying to make him glasses so that he could see in color. As smart as the kid was, there was a chance he might have actually been able to do it. As good of a friend as he had been, Roy doubted Hartley ever would have given up.

And that was what Hartley had been. A good friend.

It was easier to remember that now, when they were safe in the cabin, than it had been when Hartley had used his sonic gauntlets to knock their car off the road in Arizona.

Roy rubbed his knee slightly. That had been a particularly violent crash.

After finally getting some sleep, his mind had begun to clear. He was able to remember when and where things had happened. How he got some of his injuries, how they had escaped certain states, when he had to use his powers.

The Flash had been surprisingly absent from the pursuit of the Rogues. Lisa had thought it had something to do with Luthor. The man was putting the blame for Metropolis on every metahuman. No meta was excluded from his rants and rousing speeches.

Not even the heroic ones.

Apparently the Flash had let the Rogues slip through his fingers too many times for it to be a coincidence. Clearly the Flash must have been working with the Rogues on some of their heists. They were in "cahoots".

Which was insulting.

The Rogues had escaped those heists fair and square.

Well, more like underhanded and completely sideways but the thought was the same.

Roy could remember the signs now. The graffiti on the sides of buildings. The headlines of the newspapers. The radio station DJs all saying the same things.

Metahumans were a threat. They needed to be reported.

Contained.

Taken care of.

The Rogues hadn't had the time to figure out what was happening to everyone else out there. The other metahumans. Too worried about saving themselves. If even the Flash was having to lay low, Roy couldn't imagine how the rest of the metas were faring. Or what was happening to those who had been caught.

He would have asked Hartley about it, if the kid hadn't been trying so hard to…contain them in Arizona.

Roy, Digger, Snart and Shawna were in one car, they had just evaded a checkpoint. The others had split off into the other car, drawing some of the cops away. They had managed to pull ahead, the sirens and lights starting to fade behind them.

Snart had realized just a few seconds too late that they weren't escaping. They were being herded.

Hartley had been standing in the middle of the road. Roy remembered seeing Piper through the windshield, his cape moving slowly in the wind. Raising his hands as if motioning them to stop.

The sonic waves from his gauntlets had shattered the windows. Roy remembered grabbing his ears, barely able to hear the sounds of the van crunching around them. Hartley didn't move from the middle of the road. Digger had hit the brakes, causing the van to skid and turn.

Once the side of the van was facing him, Hartley hit it with another wave. The van flipped and rolled, only finally coming to a stop after sliding down a ditch.

The front of the van had been crushed in their descent. The dashboard had crumpled like paper and a jagged piece of metal had pierced his knee. He remembered staring down at the hole in his leg. Almost transfixed by the jaggedness of the metal and how it disappeared into his flesh. Then Digger pulled the metal out of his leg and his vision had grayed out a bit at the edges.

Digger pulled him out of his chair, looping his hands under Roy. Snart and Shawna were already out, Snart's wrist had been broken. Shawna had a head wound, which had been bleeding profusely onto her shirt. Digger had readjusted his hold on Roy and grabbed Shawna's hand, while Snart held her shoulder.

Nothing had happened.

"My powers…"

Hartley had walked up behind them, one of his gauntlets raised and pointed directly at them. He held a small device in the other hand.

"Portable anti-meta field generator. I had the cops link it into the power grid. Gives me a few extra blocks of radius. None of you can use your powers. "

Digger had put his hands up, propping Roy up against the overturned van. He took a slow step towards Hartley.

"Hart, listen mate…"

Hartley shot a sonic blast just past Digger's ear, causing the man to recoil, clutching his left ear in pain.

"You are all under arrest."

"Rathaway listen, we can explain if you would just hear…"

"You expect me to believe anything you say Leonard? You murdered all those people from the videos."

"You know about the clones, about Cadmus kidnapping…"

"That doesn't give you the right to murder innocent people. I can't believe I was so blind before. That I didn't see all the things you were doing around me. I ignored all the signs. I was so desperate to belong, that I didn't realize the kind of people you really were." Hartley had straightened up. The emotion in his voice now completely gone. "You're terrorists and murderers. Monsters who deserve to be taken off the street. And I won't stop until all of the Rogues are capture and rotting in cells."

The sirens had been getting louder and louder. Roy found himself leaning more heavily against the van. He remembered thinking that this was it. They had finally been caught. There was no way they could get out of this one.

"Don't even think about it Harkness. Reach for a boomerang and I will blow out your eardrums, permanently. That would be a real problem for you, seeing how much you like the sound of your own voice."

Digger had put his hands up in the air.

"Course mate, you're the boss here. Got us all right, fair and square."

Hartley narrowed his eyes.

"What did you do?"

"What? Me? Nothing. Got me hands up and everything. You've got us. Well and truly caught we are."

A shadow over Hartley's head caused him to turn, putting his hands up to defend himself. No doubt thinking that Digger had somehow managed to throw a boomerang right after the car crashed. That he had been distracting Hartley, waiting for the return flight.

The shadow had been nothing more than a bird flying overhead.

The momentary distraction was all it took for Digger to leap forward. Tackling Hartley to the ground.

He punched the kid a few times in the face.

"Sorry mate. But didn't seem like you was in the mood to listen."

Digger ripped off Hartley's gauntlets and threw them as far as he could.

Shawna was helping Snart stand, the crash breaking a few of the man's ribs in addition to his wrist. Digger walked over and put an arm around Roy, pulling him up. Roy hadn't even realized that he had been slowly starting to slide down the side of the van.

He looked down to see blood seeping through his left pant leg. He kept getting distracted by how much of it there seemed to be.

"Yea, what's we say we get the hell out of here?"

The cops had been in sight by then. Hartley had already been struggling to his feet.

"You won't get away with this. You'll pay for what you've done."

Roy wasn't entirely certain that Hartley had been talking about Metropolis.

The hatred in the kid's eyes…

That had been personal.

Roy hadn't had time to say anything. To attempt to get Hartley to listen to them. If anyone would have been able to help them, to hack into Luthor's files, and find the information they needed to prove they had been set up, it would have been Hartley.

But Hartley wasn't going to listen. Hartley wasn't going to believe a word they said.

Roy wondered how much of that was his fault. If he had just told Hartley the truth. If he had gotten the kid to come back to the Rogues…

Then he would be stuck in the same situation as the rest of them.

Branded a terrorist.

Running for his life.

Roy couldn't find it in him to hate Hartley for trying to capture them. He was certain Hartley was why they had almost been caught in Utah as well. Able to find them using satellites and all that.

There was this small part of him that was secretly glad Hartley was nowhere near any of this. That somehow the boy had managed to find himself back on the right side of the law. That he wouldn't be targeted by Luthor.

There was no video of Hartley killing anyone, because the kid had never killed. He wasn't a part of the Rogues when Cold had threatened the city, when Evergreen Acres happened.

Hartley had gotten out just in time.

He wondered if the kid had managed to reconnect with his parents. Hartley had once confessed to Roy, in a rare state of drunkenness, that if they ever reached out he would be inclined to tell them to go shove it.

Roy smiled a little at the memory.

Hartley had been celebrating something. Roy later found out it had been the kid's birthday.

Hartley had stolen a few bottles of bourbon. Four to be exact.

Roy remembered coming into the kitchen of the safe house to see Hartley had already drank half a bottle himself.

"Roy! Come! Take a bottle."

Roy had never really cared for whiskey. He knew Hartley cared about it even less. So Roy pushed past his initial surprise and took a bottle from Hartley. There was some kind of Japanese writing on the front.

"Yamazaki. 35 years old. Supposed to be the finest whiskey in the world. I'm surprised they didn't spring for the 50 year old. Must have been trying to cut back."

Roy had just raised an eyebrow. Mainly at the kid slightly slurring his words.

He honestly didn't think he had ever seen the kid drunk before.

"They?"

"Yes. They, as in them. As in the nominative plural form of he and she. As in the people I stole it from…." Roy didn't know exactly what Hartley said next. Mainly because the boy slipped into speaking in a different language. Roy was able to ascertain that it was most likely Latin.

Only Hartley would get drunk and start speaking Latin without realizing it.

"Any particular reason for this theft?"

"To drink it!"

"Ah of course. I think you've been spending too much time around Digger."

Hartley had looked incredibly offended at that.

"This has nothing to do with that….oaf."

Roy had smiled at the kid's put upon look

"Oaf."

"I'll cultivate a better insult when I'm sober. No. He wasn't the one who gave me the idea."

"You just felt like stealing some whiskey and getting drunk in the kitchen."

"I was going to give a bottle to Snart. He would be the only one to appreciate something like this I think. Lisa too perhaps. The rest of you aren't refined enough."

Roy had snorted at that.

"We weren't all born in mansions."

"I'm aware of that. Tragically, I somehow make due in dealing with you heathens on a daily basis."

It was rare for Hartley to get drunk. It was even rarer for him to mention his wealthy upbringing in any kind of joking manner.

Hartley didn't talk about his parents. About his childhood. None of them did really of course. But Hartley took great pains to distance himself from it. To be as far removed from those people as possible. As if becoming a supervillain hadn't been enough.

Roy had taken a swig of the proffered bottle.

"Hm."

Tasted like whiskey.

"Hm? That's all you've got is hm? That's a thirty thousand dollar bottle of whiskey."

Roy had almost dropped the damn bottle.

"Bullshit."

"The 50 year old is over 100 thousand."

Roy looked intently at Hartley now.

"Are you insane? You stole over 120 thousand dollars worth of bourbon without…"

Hartley waved off Roy's words.

"I didn't pull a heist. I simply…"

Hartley didn't look at Roy, just took another drink. Hartley apparently found the edge of the kitchen table very interesting.

It clicked in Roy's head rather suddenly.

"You stole this from your parents didn't you?"

Hartley looked embarrassed for a moment. Then had stuck out his chin and looked defiantly at Roy.

"It's hardly stealing if they don't even think to change the codes to the security system. Besides they are in Paris, they won't even notice the bottles are missing. My father only bought them for the status of it."

Roy took another drink then handed the bottle back. He decided to let that little detail about stealing from his family slide.

"I guess I'm just not refined enough. My palate lacks the breeding to taste the difference between a fifty dollar and a thirty thousand dollar bottle of whiskey."

"You spent fifty dollars on a bottle of whiskey? Easy big spender."

"It had been for a party in art school. Several of the other students were throwing a party and I had been…advised not to show up with anything cheap."

"How did that go?"

"Still the cheapest thing there. No one drank it but me."

"Sounds like you went to school with a bunch of rich assholes."

Roy laughed.

"I did. But at least I wasn't raised by them."

"Hear, hear."

They clinked together two ridiculously expensive bottles of alcohol and proceeded to drink them both.

Roy remembers how at ease Hartley had seemed. Just the two of them. Sharing stories about rich bastards who had made their lives hell. Hartley had considerably more stories than Roy of course. Roy couldn't imagine having to attend as many social functions as Hartley had been forced to endure growing up.

Roy's father had all but had to bribe Roy to go to anything even remotely resembling a social gathering. He always got a new set of paints out of going to family reunions.

"You never talk about what happened to your parents? They're dead right?"

Hartley had said it in that blunt tone of his. Slurring his words only slightly. Only barely pulling off the tone that said he didn't already know the answer to the question.

He knew Hartley had looked into all of their lives before joining the Rogues. He must have seen the files on Roy's parents.

Roy didn't like to think about their deaths. And even as drunk as he had been, hadn't been willing to talk about it.

"What about you? You break into their house when they aren't there, steal something they won't notice is missing? You want to reconnect with them or piss them off more?"

Hartley had waved the bottle around as he spoke, using it to punctuate his point. But when talking about his parents, he had adopted a more serious tone. He rolled the bottle between his hands.

"I…I don't know Roy. Do you ever wonder…just what we are? And how much of it is because of them? Am I me, in spite of them or because of them?"

Roy knew that the philosophical musings stage of drunkenness was usually immediately followed by the throwing up stage. So he had staggered over to the sink and managed to pour them both a glass of water.

It had done nothing for the massive hangovers they both had the next day, but Roy likes to think he had at least been attempting to be responsible.

Hartley had stared at the water for a moment, then finished off the last of the bottle.

"I hate them Roy. I hate how easy it was for them to throw me away. And I'm still here…Stealing their goddamn whiskey."

Roy had helped Hartley stagger back to his room not too long after that. The atmosphere becoming unbearably morose. Although they then had had to immediately stagger back to the kitchen, Hartley not trusting that the other two bottles would still be there in the morning if he left out where Digger might find them.

"Heathen wouldn't even know what he was drinking."

Hartley had all but fallen into bed, his Pied Piper outfit still on. He tucked the two remaining bottles under the other pillow, patting the pillow gently.

It was probably the only time Roy can remember Hartley acting even remotely like someone his age.

"We'll finish these later. You can tell me more about that Ian prick. Maybe I can find out where he is now. Delete his bank accounts, ruin his credit history, put a couple fake charges in his police file."

"That's sweet of you Hartley."

"Course. That's what we do for us…for each other…you know…"

Hartley had passed out relatively quickly and Roy had somehow managed to stumble back to his own bed.

Thankfully they had been in between jobs at the time. Most of the Rogues had been out. Probably drinking somewhere nearby, or doing…whatever it was they all used to do. Roy could barely remember what their free time had been like back then.

There were still two unopened bottles of bourbon out there somewhere. Roy vaguely wondered what happened to them. Were they still at the safe house? Had Hartley gone back to all their old stashes and taken anything that was his?

Or would he have turned it all over to the cops? A show of good faith, by showing them all of their store houses….

Did Hartley know about the storage locker where Roy kept his paintings? He must have. The kid knew where all their goods where stored. There would be no reason for the cops to search there though.

Except for the extra cash he used to store there as well.

Roy tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach, the one that said that his paintings were all gone.

He had caught glimpses of what people were doing to the Rogues merchandise. Bonfires of all their action figures.

Axel had made a joke about how collectible this was going to make them one day. They might end up stealing their own figures out of a museum.

No one had really had the energy to laugh.

If someone other than the cops found his paintings…

"You're up early."

Roy didn't turn as Lisa sat down next to him on the log. The sun had cleared the horizon and was starting its way up into the sky.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Well, that is a problem we are lucky to have now. Thinking about anything in particular?"

Roy doubted that mentioning he was thinking fondly of memories of Hartley would be met with anything other than disdain by Lisa.

The Snarts were good at a great many things. Admitting they were wrong was not one of them.

If she hadn't considered Hartley a traitor before, she definitely did after Arizona.

Not being there when they needed him was one thing.

Actively knocking a car her brother was in off the road was another.

"My paintings."

"I'm sure they're safe. You stored them at the same place Mick stashed a lot of his stuff right?"

"Yea."

"Well there you go. I'm sure the cops are too busy looking at all the stolen money and art we lifted from other people to worry about your originals. It's not like it's illegal to paint."

Roy thought about his paintings about how some of them might be considered confessions if interpreted correctly.

"Mick's already headed out."

Lisa gave a small sigh.

"Getting an early start today."

"Any idea what he's going out there?"

"I have a few thoughts."

Lisa's tone implied that she had no intention of sharing those thoughts with him.

Roy looked back at the sun.

"There's something wrong with you isn't there?"

"You are not the first woman to say that to me."

She slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"You know what I mean. Something to do with your powers?"

"I'm not really sure."

"I know we've all been…caught up in our own miserable little worlds lately. Focusing on our own problems but if there is something…"

"It's nothing. They're just weak from overuse is all."

Lisa nodded, the look she gave him implying that she didn't quite believe him.

"Next time someone makes a run to town we can have them pick up at least some pens and paper. So you can sketch. Think that will help?"

He honestly didn't know.

He had the desire to paint, to create, to get his emotions out in the only way he had ever been comfortable doing it.

But he felt so…apathetic about it at the same time. He knew, with absolute certainty, that if there was a canvas in front of him, he wouldn't be able to paint anything.

He couldn't really explain it.

"I'm sure it will."

Lisa smiled slightly.

"Any idea on what we're doing from here?"

"Still working on it."

"We can't stay here much longer. I think Axel is starting to get cabin fever. I saw him attempting to make a radio out of a potato yesterday."

"You can do that?"

"Apparently."

"Well, the things you learn."

They sat in silence a few more minutes. Finally Lisa pushed a few strands of hair out of her face and turned to Roy.

"The newspapers in town were still plastered with talks of the manhunt. We can't even attempt to move until it slows down a little. And then we would need to find somewhere with electricity that no one knows about, where we could find a way to fight back against Luthor without literally anyone on the planet knowing where we are. Eventually the speedsters might just start running around every place on earth, then we will be screwed regardless."

"What does Cold think?"

Roy asked out of habit. He knew that it was far more likely that Cold hadn't given it a single thought. From the look of frustration on her face, Roy could tell Lisa was getting fed up with her brother's recent turn towards pacifism.

"Lenny's still working through his own issues. I'm going to have to kick his ass soon if he doesn't get his head out of his ass."

A loss of control as monumental as Snart experienced was going to take a long time to get through. It was one thing to be mind controlled. To be blackmailed. To be forced to do something you didn't want to do.

It was another to know that at any moment you might explode. Killing every single person around you. That somewhere out there was a sociopath with his finger on the button that could kill your family.

And there was nothing you could do to stop it.

* * *

Hartley had never been one for rash displays of anger. He found that it was usually much easier to hurt someone with a well placed word than with a fist. Whenever a problem would arise that he couldn't figure out, as rare as that may be, he was usually able to walk away from it. Do something else. Then come back and see a solution he hadn't seen before.

He picked up his laptop and threw it across the room. It didn't make a loud crash. More like a dull thunk, followed by the sound of several keys scattering across the floor.

Wholly unsatisfying.

It did nothing to soothe his frustration. He stalked over to his workbench and began tweaking one of his gauntlets. He ignored everything else around him. Including, apparently, the sound of his door opening.

"Guessing it's not a good day huh?"

Hartley took a deep breath, trying to ignore the voice that had intruded upon his solitude. It didn't help. His irritation with the entire situation that is his current life, causes him to snap.

"You're a master of observation. No doubt you would have been the top of your class if you hadn't decided to drop out of college to pursue a career in running around really fast. Like there aren't a dozen other speedsters now making you completely secondary and useless."

"Yea well. You know me, if I'm going to be useless at least I'll look good doing it."

Hartley had tried repeatedly to hate Wally West over the last few weeks.

It was apparently impossible.

He wasn't going to apologize for his comment, but he did try to soften his tone a bit.

"Was there something you wanted?"

"Nah. Just found a space bar in the hallway, thought you might want it back. Didn't you just get that laptop?"

Hartley ignored the question.

He had just gotten the laptop.

More, his parents had just gotten him that one.

They kept sending him things. Now that he was back on the right side of the law. Now that Luthor kept standing up and saying how amazing it was that Hartley had reformed, that he had been able to shake off the influence of the Rogues.

Now his parents wanted to talk to him.

Now they reached out to him in the only way they knew how. By spending money.

His first instinct had been to send it back. To send a note stating that he wanted nothing from them. That their gifts would never work.

But then practicality had set it. He needed a laptop, a personal one, that wasn't connected to Luthor's servers. Just because he was trying to capture the Rogues, didn't mean he trusted Luthor. The man was shady, and once the Rogues were neutralized, Hartley fully intended to look more into Luthor and his connection to Cadmus.

But the Rogues had to come first. They were the more immediate threat. They were the ones out there killing innocent people.

"I'll get another one."

"You mean buy another one right? Cause I'd hate for the Malevolent Musician of Central City to get caught stealing."

Hartley actually turned away from his work at that, facing Wally for the first time.

"My god that is terrible. Did Cisco come up with that?"

Wally looked slightly embarrassed. It almost made Hartley smile.

"How long did it take you to come up with that?"

"Not…that long. Anyway man, come on you've been in here for weeks. You gotta get out. Let's go get something to eat. I'm paying…as long as we eat somewhere cheap and don't spend more than ten dollars. Being a superhero college drop out doesn't pay very well."

Hartley had been resistant to the idea of living with Wally at first. For one thing he barely knew the guy. He had only met him a few times when he had been working with the STAR labs team after his attempted kidnapping. Then Wally had somehow developed super speed.

To be honest, Hartley hadn't paid too much attention to how it happened. Something to do with a magic rock if Cisco was to be believed.

Hartley had spent most of his time in the past few weeks holed up in his small apartment, watching the meager amount of money still in his possession begin to dwindle away. One of the tenets of him not being charged, was that he help recover as much stolen money as possible. Including everything in his own personal accounts.

He may have accidentally forgotten to mention one of his accounts in the Caiman Islands. But that was for emergencies only, and most of that money he had acquired prior to becoming a criminal.

Mostly.

Some of it anyway.

Then two weeks ago, Barry had showed up and asked if Wally could stay with Hartley for a little while. Barry was dealing with all kinds of fallout from Metropolis as well.

Hartley knew that if he had been a metahuman, there would be no amount of charity work or contrition that would have saved him. He would be rotting in a cell.

Like so many other metahumans that were waiting for their processing. Waiting for their powers to be removed by Luthor's technology.

This was all the Rogues' fault.

"I have to work on this."

"You're working yourself to death man. You gotta…"

"What? I gotta what? Relax? Take a step back? Breathe? You didn't mention that you took a Psych 101 class, must really have been worth all that money of you wasted on your failed education. I'm sure your cop father really appreciates the money he had to take out of his pension to pay for you to be able to extend such insightful words of wisdom."

Wally was a lot to things. Bullheaded. Stubborn. Quick to jump into a fight.

"It's not your fault they got away. You're not responsible."

Unflinchingly kind.

If Hartley could just hate this bastard it would be so much easier to push him away.

"I know that."

Wally sat down on the stool next to Hartley.

He didn't speak. Just sat there with those big stupid understanding eyes. Finally Hartley felt his resolve crack.

"I promised myself I would never be that stupid again."

"Again?"

"When I…when I finally came out to my parents. I convinced myself it wouldn't be as bad as I thought. They were my parents. They might not have ever been able to show it the way normal people did, but they had to love me. At least, they had to feel something like that towards me. And then they just cut me off. Kicked me out."

"Then I got the job at STAR labs. And Harrison Wells had taken a personal interest in me. And I…I believed in everything he said. Believed that he saw me for who I was and accepted it. And we all know how that turned out."

"I told myself that I would never do that again. I would never let something as ridiculous as a concept like family completely destroy my life. That families were only people who knew how to hurt you the worst. I…I told myself I wouldn't. And then I just fell for every single lie they told me."

"You can't just give up on people."

"Madness is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

"Look. I know I wasn't around for like literally any of it. But Barry said that the Rogues were different. That they all looked out for each other. I mean, I'm not saying they don't need to be caught for what they did. But it doesn't mean they didn't actually care about you."

"They didn't Wally. I was useful, and nothing more."

"Come on man, it couldn't have all been bad right?"

Hartley had a brief memory of sitting in the safe house, watching Roy paint, listening to Mick and Digger yell at the hockey game, playing a game of chess with Snart, and feeling so…ridiculously content.

Like he finally knew what it was like to have a real family.

And it had all been bullshit.

"It wasn't all bad. That's what makes my humiliation worse. I actually believed them."

Clearly there was something wrong with him. Something in him that couldn't judge what a person was truly thinking.

Had they laughed about it behind his back?

Did the other Rogues think it was funny how they had convinced Hartley that he was one of them? Only to reveal what they really thought when the chips were down.

Even Roy had turned on him.

And Hartley hadn't just trusted Roy. He had cared about him. He had genuinely believed that the man was his friend. That he could finally imagine what it was like to have a brother, someone he could count on. No matter what.

But Roy had turned his back on Hartley just as quickly as the others.

"Alright, fine. I'll buy you a combo number six and a chocolate milkshake. Final offer. Nobody can resist that."

Hartley raised an eyebrow.

"It's forty degrees outside, why would I want a milkshake?"

"For your fries."

"What does that even mean?"

"Dude? What? Ok that's it, now you have to come with me. I'll kidnap you if I have to. There's no way I can let you sit here and have lived your whole life without having dipped your Big Belly Burger fries in your chocolate milkshake. It is seriously the best thing you will ever eat."

"I had a French chef prepare my meals for me growing up."

"Well that dude clearly didn't know what he was doing. Because this, will blow all of that out of the water. Come on, it's going to be real embarrassing if I have to carry you there at super speed."

There was little doubt in Hartley's mind that Wally wouldn't do exactly that. The man was almost buzzing with energy at the moment.

Never again.

It had been repeating in his mind over and over since he saw the footage from Metropolis. Since he saw how many people the Rogues had murdered over the months leading up to it.

Never again would he let anyone in.

Everyone just wanted something from him. Once he captured the Rogues, the cops would have no use for him. They wouldn't have him helping out with metahuman tracking anymore. He wouldn't be able to get a job because of his felony convictions.

The Flash, Cisco, Caitlin they all had more important things in their own lives than to worry about some asshole genius they never really liked, but were forced to work with. It was his experience in how the Rogues operated that had kept him around this long.

He would never let himself be tricked into thinking that someone might actually care about him. That he could find people who accepted him as he was.

He wouldn't fall for it.

Some people…just weren't meant to have a family.

He didn't need a family.

He didn't need friends.

They would just betray him in the end.

He would pick up that scanning program he created again. Figure out what happened after the trail went dead in Canada. The Rogues couldn't have gone very far. The rumors of them heading for Russia was an obvious lie, but they should have appeared on camera somewhere since then.

They had to be in a dead zone of some kind. There were plenty of them in Montana, and the Dakotas. The Rogues could have doubled back, hiding in some forested area in one of those states.

But those states were so sparsely populated it could take years to search every backwoods. Even with two speedsters to help, they had no idea where to start looking. And Barry and Wally spent so much time dealing with metahumans who were resisting Luthor's attempts to de-power them they couldn't exactly run off to search millions of acres on a hunch.

Hell, just last week several metahumans had escaped from Iron Heights. Most had been recaptured but two of them were still on the loose and…

"Earth to Hartley. You going to change or are you wanting to be seen in public wearing last weeks dirty laundry? Figure the smell will keep people back?"

Hartley looked down at the sweater he was wearing.

He had just grabbed it out of the pile on the floor. They hadn't turned the heat on in the apartment yet. Saving money and all that nonsense. So he kept just covering up in blankets. They would turn it on when hypothermia might be an actual concern.

He had been wearing this for a day or two now. He could…

Lisa bought him this sweater.

Just…randomly bought it for him.

She just dropped it in his room while he was working on something. When he was still recovering from being stabbed by Digger.

Said it would bring out the color of his eyes, and no boy would be able to resist.

"I'm sure my criminal record will overrule any interest in my eyes."

"Please. Boys like a bit of mystery. You're an international thief Hart. You'd be surprised at how many boys are into that kind of thing. Once you're better, you and I are going to go out on the town."

They hadn't ended up going out.

Lisa had disappeared to Paris for awhile. Hartley was supposed to join her in Monte Carlo, but he had wanted to attend the conference in Starling first and then…

He pulled the sweater off slowly. And threw it back on the ground. He wasn't going to throw it away. He still needed it. When he got more money he could replace it with something better. Something that wasn't tainted.

It was like the laptop from his parents.

Beggars couldn't be choosers.

He could stick the keys back on and fix the screen if it shattered. Push down all the memories attached to the object and just use it.

He finally stood up from his workbench.

"Yes! You will not regret this Hartley I promise."

Hartley just nodded slowly. He picked up another sweater, this one looked slightly cleaner.

He had bought this one himself. Years ago. After his parents, but before the Rogues.

He pulled it on and made a half aborted attempt to smooth out some of the wrinkles.

He pointedly ignored the small bit of black paint on the cuff of the left sleeve.

He ran a tired hand through his hair. He really should get it cut soon. It was becoming a bit unruly.

"You look fine man."

"I look like a hobo."

"But like…a cool hobo. Like you're riding trains around the country and telling stories about the war to the new kids."

A small smile finally broke Hartley's face.

"You're an idiot."

"We'll see who's the idiot when you are experiencing the greatest food combination ever created by man."

"You're really building up a lot of hype for this."

"And you will understand why once you've tried it. Let's go, I'll drive."

"Be safer for you run us there at super speed." Hartley muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Yea that's what I thought."

Hartley followed Wally out to the car. He was halfway there when he realized he was still smiling.

A small voice in the back of his head started screaming at him.

Never again.

You can't let yourself fall for this same trick again.

They don't care about you. You're just useful to them

Wally just needed a place to stay since Barry is living with Iris and Joe is under investigation. Can't have a speedster running in and out of a house that is under surveillance from the FBI, the CIA, and whoever else Luthor was paying. Hartley had measures in place around his apartment that prevented surveillance. That was the only reason Wally was there.

That's all this is.

He doesn't care about you.

You're just useful.

"Man did you see my fight against that meta yesterday? The guy was freaking flying all over the place. I had to…"

Axel had jumped on Mardon's back every chance he got. Attempting to get the man to fly him around. Although after Mardon had deliberately dumped the kid in a fountain after Axel did it during a heist, he had been more cautious about it.

Well. As cautious as Axel could be about anything. Which meant he had come to Hartley the next day asking for his opinion on some sketches he had done.

Flying shoes.

With little rockets coming off the back. The designs had seemed like gibberish.

Hartley had said as much. But then he had said it about almost everything Axel showed him.

Never stopped Axel from actually going out and creating the damn things anyway.

He wondered if the shoes ever made it out of the planning stages.

Hartley sat down in the front seat of the car.

Seatbelts.

Snart had always been such a stickler for seatbelts.

Makes sense when your mother dies in a car crash he supposes. Hartley had never really told any of them how much he knew about their pasts. The information on Snart had been particularly difficult to obtain, especially since Barry had destroyed so much of it.

An old two-paragraph newspaper article on microfilm detailing the death had been his only source of information.

He started to pick at the dried paint on his sleeve. It suddenly seemed of the utmost importance that he remove it from his clothes.

"What the hell…"

Hartley looked up from his clothing, one of the roads up ahead was blocked. Hundreds of people were walking, carrying signs, chanting.

Another anti-meta protest.

That was another thing keeping Barry and Wally busy. All the fights and riots that kept happening. Every time a metahuman, or someone who was accused of being a metahuman, was found, people reacted. Usually violently.

And having a metahuman speedster show up to stop the violence had a tendency to exacerbate the problem.

"Guess we will go to the one on 12th."

Hartley leaned back in the seat, resting his head against the headrest.

Hartley's gaze fell towards the people walking down the street. So far he hadn't been the target of any of the backlash. That he had been working with the Flash prior to the Rogues attacking Metropolis, that he hadn't known anything about it, had been the only saving grace.

After he caught the Rogues and had them all locked up, he would have to thank Lisa for kicking him out when she did.

He ignored the small stupid part of himself that still felt the need to help them. To figure out why they had attacked that subdivision. That was telling him to look closer at the evidence…

He closed his eyes for a moment. Pushing down all the thoughts of helping them. They had betrayed him. They were murderers. They used him.

They never gave a shit about him.

"You feeling ok?"

Hartley had a sudden urge to tell Wally what he was thinking. To tell him about his doubts about the guilt of the Rogues. About how inconsistent it was with what he knew, or thought he knew, about them. He just needed someone to rely on for a moment. Someone who would listen to his concerns without judgment, so he could work through all the chaos in his head.

Someone he could trust.

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to pick and choose what I want to use from Season 3. Basically I just needed Wally to be a speedster.


	3. Chapter 3

Digger is whittling.

Honest to god, whittling.

Roy stands on the porch for a few seconds and just stares at him. It doesn't take him more than a second to figure out what Digger is turning that branch into.

"You have a knife. Why do you need a boomerang?"

Digger looks over at Roy and smiles.

"What, this piddly little thing? Could barely kill a mouse with it. Nah, I get this one all done, maybe make a few more, and I'll be able to knock out anyone that comes at us. Seeing as you lot can't use any of your powers or we'll be detected, somebody's gotta take up the slack."

Roy shakes his head slightly but doesn't make any other comments. He leaves the man to his woodworking.

Lisa and Shawna had gone out earlier. Usual supply run, except they were hitting up a town a little farther away. Testing the waters. Seeing if it was safe enough for them to move beyond the confines of their cabin.

Snart was standing by one of the cars. The hood was popped, and Snart was looking inside, but Roy wasn't sure the man was actually doing anything. Mick was usually the one that worked on the cars. Back when his hands weren't burnt to hell at least.

Mick had already disappeared into the woods for the day.

Roy walked back inside and sat down at the kitchen table with Axel and Mark. The two were playing cards. Had been for a while now. Anything to pass the time.

"Go Fish! Boom!"

"We're playing Gin."

"What? Since when?"

"At least the past twenty minutes."

"We should play Go Fish. Or War. That's a solid way to kill at least six hours."

Mark rolled his eyes. But then threw down his cards.

"Fine. War it is."

"Yes! Dude. I will shuffle."

Axel grabbed the deck and threw the entire thing into the air. Roy might have made a comment if it had been the first time the kid had done it. But seeing as that was Axel's preferred method of shuffling, Roy had gotten slightly accustomed to it.

It took Axel almost ten minutes to locate all the cards. Especially after a few managed to end up under the fridge.

A strangled yell broke them out of their quiet game.

The three Rogues jumped to their feet. They headed for the door, not knowing what they might find.

They must have been found. Somehow, the cops or Luthor or the Flash had finally located them.

Roy expected to see helicopters. SWAT teams. Men with guns ready to kill the Rogues if they so much as flinched.

What he was not expecting was a single petite blond woman standing over Digger. Digger was bent over on his hand and knees.

Digger's face was ashen and gray. The man looked like he was on the verge of throwing up.

Roy's focus was pulled from that odd scene to the nearest car. Where a man had an arm wrapped around Snart's throat.

Half of a man at least. He appeared to be coming out of the car's window. Snart was clutching the side of the car, apparently trying to resist being pulled through the glass.

"Um WTF?"

Axel's proclamation pulled the attention of the woman and Mark lifted his arm, already starting to form a small gust of wind.

Roy grabbed Mark's arm and pulled it down.

"They'll find us if you use your powers."

The woman didn't appear to have a gun but Roy was going to assume she had some type of powers to have taken down Digger so quickly.

The mercenary barely glanced at them but managed to choke out a few words before throwing up.

"Her…eyes…"

Roy quickly averted his gaze. Mark did the same. The sound of retching behind them evidence that Axel hadn't managed to avoid her powers. Mardon gave Roy a slight shove off of the porch.

"Get Snart."

Mardon headed for the woman, keeping his eyes downcast while Roy ran towards the half man still struggling with Snart. Mardon should be able to overpower her without his powers, while Roy can use his to get the man off of Snart.

As long as his powers actually worked of course.

Roy catches the man's eye and attempts to use his calming powers on him.

There was that odd feeling in his eyes again. His powers only flash in the man's eyes for a second, but it is enough for Snart to be able to escape the man's chokehold.

Then he disappears.

Shit. Roy hadn't been able to hold the man under his power.

Roy grabs Snart's arm and pulls him to his feet.

A muffled sound behind them causes them to turn. Mark is helping Digger to his feet, but there's no sign of the girl.

"What happened?"

"No idea…she…just disappeared."

"Who the hell was that?"

"Sam Scudder and Rosa Dillon." Snart was rubbing at his throat. Roy noticed the way the man kept touching the collar around his neck as well.

"Friends of…yours, mate?"

"If you throw up on me Digger…"

"I'm fine. I got it…"

Mark all but pushes Digger away as the man starts heaving again.

"Looks like they gained metahuman abilities since the last time I saw them."

Roy sighs. Of course, just what they need. More enemies.

"I'm guessing it wasn't an amicable parting."

"As amicable as almost putting a bullet through Scudder's head can be."

Roy helps Snart back towards the house. Axel is still lying flat on his back, staring up at the sky above.

"Why…was everything moving?" Mark reaches down and pulls Axel to his feet, the young Trickster grabs onto the nearest post for dear life. Roy helps Snart sit down, but Snart grabs Roy's wrist before he can let the man go completely.

"Roy…go find Mick."

Roy gives Snart a look.

"He's…"

"I know, but at least attempt to find him. Shawna and Lisa should be back within the hour. If they aren't then we are going to have to find them. We don't know if Scudder and Dillion's powers can be tracked or if they will sell us out, so we have to move."

For a moment, Snart almost sounded like his old self again. Self assured, giving orders, assuming they will be followed without question. It was only undercut by the fact that he kept touching the collar around his neck. Making sure it was still there. Still keeping his powers contained.

"I'll go with Roy."

Digger semi-stumbles over to where Roy was standing on the porch. Roy looked the mercenary up and down.

"You sure…"

"You got lost in the Central City Park, don't think you'll be too much good trying to find your way around the actual wilderness."

Roy opened his mouth to explain that that had been one time, but found he didn't really have much of a rebuttal.

He was not a fan of the wilderness. He wasn't really sure why Snart wanted him to go retrieve Mick.

"Roy…bring Mick back." Snart reiterated his order. Not something he usually did. He always expected his orders to be…

It dawns on Roy rather quickly. Mick might not want to come back with them. Snart was ordering him to use his powers on Mick if he had to.

Roy sighs and follows Digger as he staggers into the woods.

"Got a couple hours of daylight left. Shouldn't be too hard to follow his tracks again."

"Again?"

"Tailed after him a few times, thought I'd see if he found anything interesting."

"And?"

"Nah."

Digger didn't explain any further. Just kept walking.

They walked for at least half an hour. As they went on, Digger's movements became more stable. Whatever that girl could do, it seemed to knock people off balance.

Roy figured they were getting close. Digger had started making more noise as they walked. Giving Mick the heads up that they were coming. Not wanting to sneak up on the most volatile member of their group.

Mick was sitting on a rock, staring out at a stream. He didn't appear to be doing anything. Roy wasn't sure what he thought Mick was doing out here. But…nothing definitely wasn't something that had crossed his mind.

"Gotta head back mate. Couple of wankers found us."

Mick doesn't turn at first. Just keeps staring. Slowly he stands up and walks past them without saying a word.

Roy and Digger share a glance but follow the pyromaniac silently.

Which lasts for about three minutes before Digger starts talking.

"Two metahumans tried to grab Snart. Said their names were Dillon and Scudder. You know them?"

Mick doesn't respond.

"Right. Well, seemed to hate Cold. Thinks they might lead the cops or something to us, so we gotta move. The one chick just got this look in her eyes and I was on the floor. Now I ain't no stranger to ending up nauseous on the floor but usually I got the fun of drinking first. Didn't even see what the other bloke was doing."

"He was able to disappear and appear in the window of the car."

"Yea? That's something. Pretty convenient way to…"

Mick stops suddenly and Digger collides with the man's back.

"Jesus, mate what is…"

"You said he moved through the glass?"

Roy looked at Mick.

"That's what it looked like. He was half in it and half out trying to grab Snart."

"What's…"

Mick points to something on the ground just in front of them.

It was a piece of broken glass.

Roy looked around quickly. There were broken shards of glass surrounding them completely. They had walked right into a trap.

"Shit."

Roy felt something wrap around his ankle.

He looked down and saw a hand coming up out of a small mirror beside his foot.

Roy didn't have time to warn the others before he found himself pulled down.

He didn't pass out.

He knew that much at least.

He knew he was conscious. That all that had happened was that he had been yanked rather forcefully down into a piece of glass no bigger than his hand.

It had been a rather uncomfortable feeling. Sort of like the feeling when teleporting with Shawna. Except that this was immediately followed by this…sudden chill.

It wasn't cold. Not exactly. It wasn't that he suddenly felt cold. It was just that he seemed to notice an odd absence of something…Like the sun suddenly going behind the clouds on a warm day.

It was dark. No…that wasn't right either. If he turned his head upward he could see light, a small hole that showed the sky above him.

He looked around him. He was standing on…nothing.

He bounced slightly on his feet.

There was something solid beneath him and yet, he was certain there was nothing there. There were other holes, casting small beams of light into the shadows all around him.

The other pieces of broken glass no doubt. So…Digger and Mick might be around here as well.

He took a step.

The not-ground didn't move, didn't give under his feet like grass or mud might. But it wasn't hard like concrete. His steps didn't echo as he moved through the cavernous expanse around him. Which he thought was a bit disappointing. Would have added to the overall mood of the place. What's the point of a shadowy cave like reality if you couldn't be terrified of the echoes of your own footsteps?

He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to move away from the spot he was pulled through. Maybe that was the only way he could move back out. But he found himself oddly drawn to the strange shadows around him.

He passed underneath another beam of light in the darkness.

This one appeared to be leaning against something. Roy could see blades of grass, and trees in the distance.

It wasn't pointed upwards towards the sky like the one he had been brought through. There were other mirrors all around him, some to the left and the right. Some above and below. Each pointing out in a different direction.

How did one orient up and down in a place like this?

He was going to assume he was facing the right way until something proved him wrong.

Something like seeing Digger standing perpendicular to Roy. Like he was standing on a wall. He was underneath a piece of glass. Attempting to punch it.

Roy tried to yell.

"Digger!"

His voice didn't seem to go any farther than his lips. He heard the sound clearly in his own ears. But Digger didn't turn.

Roy realized he could see Digger's mouth moving. No doubt shouting obscenities at their captors. He couldn't hear any of it though.

Digger didn't appear to be more than a few hundred feet from Roy.

Roy started walking again.

It was like one of those dreams where you walk and walk but never get any closer to your destination.

Digger turned and finally seemed to notice Roy. Roy waved. Digger stopped attacking the glass. He could see Digger's mouth moving.

"I can't hear you."

Digger looked confused then somehow the man started walking towards him. He made actual progress. How the hell was he doing that? Was there some kind of pathway that Roy couldn't see? Too many shades of black and gray all muddled together for Roy's eyes to be able to tell them apart? The mercenary was in front of him after a few moments.

"Where the hell are we?"

Roy was glad that he could actually hear Digger now that they were closer. He hadn't been looking forward to a game of charades.

"Don't know. You seen Mick?"

Digger turns and looks at all the space around them.

"Nah mate, didn't even see you standing there until I did."

"Well."

"Guess we just wait here then?"

Roy wanted to make some comment. How they should at least attempt to find a way out, but he got the distinct feeling that it would be completely useless. Digger was already sitting on the not-ground. He had his knife and half completed boomerang out again.

There was nothing here but shadows. Interspersed with the rays of light cutting through at all angles. And physics didn't appear to be an issue in this world. There was no way of knowing how big this place was, or what would happen if they wandered too far from the mirrors around them.

Roy sat down beside Digger.

"So. You and Shawna banging yet?"

Roy snorted.

"Subtle as always Digger."

"What? Somebody in this bloody team ought to at least be getting some."

Roy ignored Digger. It didn't stop the man talking, but it was the only thing he could really do.

Roy isn't sure how long they sit there. Digger's inappropriate comments not withstanding, there's no way to tell the passage of time. He supposed eventually they would be able to see the sun setting through one of the mirrors. Unless time passed differently here.

Digger finishes the boomerang he's working on though. Sharpening the edges into thin points.

Digger stands up.

He throws the boomerang. It disappears into the shadows.

It doesn't come back.

"Bugger."

"I'm going to assume that the laws of the real world don't exactly apply here."

Digger starts to walk towards where he threw it.

"You're not seriously going after it are you?"

"What? Gotta get it back don't I?"

"You literally have no idea where it went. It disappeared into a shadow. In a world made entirely of shadows."

Digger just keeps walking. Roy rubs his eyes then he stands up and starts to follow. He's only a few steps behind, when he sees something out of the corner of his eye.

"Digger."

The mercenary turns sharply, palming his small knife.

Someone is walking towards them. Roy can barely make out the figure, but he is sure it isn't Mick.

Digger puts a hand on Roy's arm, pulling him slightly back.

"Your powers still messed up?"

"Does everyone know about it?"

"Not too hard to figure. You been squirrelly about it since Utah."

Roy attempts to access his powers, he starts to feel the familiar burn of rage. But abruptly it stops.

"Damn it."

"Take that as a no then."

Roy can see the other person more clearly now. It's the same man from earlier, the one who had been trying to pull Snart through the window.

"That's Scudder."

"Don't see his skirt anywhere."

Roy glanced around. He didn't see Dillon. But she could be hidden in any of the shadows surrounding them.

"Welcome to the Mirror Verse gentlemen."

"Lovely place you got here mate. Could use a bit of sprucing up, a couch or fridge maybe."

The man smirked at Digger's tone.

"Sorry about that. Didn't have time to clean the place up for guests."

"Well, that's just being a bad host."

"Roy Bivolo and Digger Harkness. My name is Sam Scudder. I…"

"What they call you? Mirrors? Reflect-O? "

"Mirror Master."

Digger scoffs.

"Bit presumptuous for my tastes."

"I'll keep that in mind 'Captain' Boomerang. Now as I was…"

"How do we know you are a Master of Mirrors? Maybe you're just an apprentice. I mean, this place ain't exactly the most impressive of places. I've seen abandoned warehouses with better design."

"I am trying…"

"Course, I figure you didn't actually create it. Just sort of stumbled upon it one day, yeah?"

Digger's ability to annoy an enemy into making a mistake was something that Roy had come to appreciate about the mercenary.

Scudder looked like he was getting angry now. He took a few steps forward. He didn't appear to see the small knife hidden in Digger's hand.

"I have you trapped and unless you want to spend the rest of your very short lives here, I would suggest you shut up and listen to me."

"Course mate, no reason to get your knickers up. Just making friendly conversation is all."

"My fight is with Snart. You can all stay in here for the rest of your lives or, you can help me. Join with me and I will let you go.

Digger lets out a belly laugh. Bends over slightly and puts his hands on his knees. Even wipes away imaginary tears. Roy smiles at the man's reaction. Scudder is looking more and more furious by the moment.

"Roy, let me ask you something mate."

"Sure Digger."

"How many times we been kidnapped by some psycho that wants us to help them with their idiotic plan?"

"Two or three at this point I would say."

"And have we ever gone along with it?"

"No, generally we just beat the shit out of the idiot."

"Sorry Sammy, but looks like our track records speaks for itself."

"You don't have a choice. I control…"

The thing that most people tend to forget about Digger, with all the puns and his obsession with boomerangs, and his generally shitty personality, is just how quick he is.

Digger has an arm around Scudder's throat and his knife on the man's jugular before he can even finish his sentence.

"Now then. That's better don't you think Roy?"

"He seems more amenable to listening."

"He does, doesn't he? How about it Sammy? You willing to listen to our counteroffer?"

"You kill me, you'll never get out of here."

"Ah, see now that's just bad planning on your part. See, I'm thinking the reason only me and Roy is here, is cause you couldn't grab Mick like you wanted. He's a slippery bastard that's for sure. And the fact that your skirt ain't here, makes me think that maybe she didn't get away from our friends quite so quick. So you thought you'd come in here and try to intimidate us with your quaint little magic tricks. Get us to give up something. Maybe going to trade us for your little girl. But here's the thing, if Snart's got your girl, I'm thinking he ain't going to show as much patience for her as I'm showing you. So you're going to get us back out there, or I'm going to slit your throat. Then me and Roy will sit here and wait for our mates to figure out how to get us out of here. How's that sound?"

"Sounds fair to me."

"Course it does Roy. Cause we're both reasonable. What about you Sammy? You reasonable?"

Digger pushes the blade harder into Scudder's neck.

"Alright! We need to be closer to one of the mirrors."

"Do we now? Well, let's hope me hand doesn't slip as we're walking."

They find one of the small beams of light. Roy grabs onto Scudder's arm as the man touches the mirror.

Being pushed back out of the mirror verse is just as disconcerting as going in. Roy takes a moment to reorient himself, feeling the ground beneath his feet again. Digger's hold on Scudder never waivers.

They're back in the forest. In almost the same place as where they were ambushed.

"Pull off Sammy's tie."

Roy pulls it off and starts tying it around Scudder's eyes. Then he searches through Scudder's pockets

"I meant to tie up his hands Roy, not start a kinky sex party. Not that I'm opposed to it, I'll try anything once, it just hardly seems like the right time."

"If he can see or touch a mirror he can escape through it. Just making sure he doesn't have one on him."

"See Roy, this is what I like about you. Always thinking things through."

Digger keeps a hold on the back of Scudder's jacket as they walk back towards the cabin. Digger spins the man around, using him as a shield, at the sound of twigs snapping behind them.

"There you assholes are."

Shawna looks at them with an exasperated smile.

"We've been trying to get information out of Dillon on how to get you guys back since you vanished."

"If you've hurt her…"

Digger slaps Scudder on the back of the head.

"Hush now mate. I'm sure they're treating her like she deserves."

Shawna smirks.

"Oh yea, Snart's been real polite. A true gentleman."

Shawna teleports them back to the cabin.

Roy and Shawna enter the room first. Dillon has a rag tied around her eyes as well. She's sitting in a chair in the kitchen. Digger pushes Scudder through the door.

Snart raises an eyebrow at their sudden appearance.

"You managed to escape."

"Sammy just needed a little motivation is all."

"Sam? Are you alright baby?"

"I'm fine Rosa. Did they hurt you?"

Snart grabs Scudder by the collar and pushes him down into a chair beside Dillon.

"Well this is touching. Truly. However, I am trying to think of a reason not to kill both of you right now. And quite frankly, I'm not coming up with anything compelling."

"You need us."

"Really? Seeing as you just tried to kidnap or kill several members of my team. I find my dependence on your aid to be counterproductive."

"By now, the anti meta pigs will have locked on to your location."

"And they have done that how?"

"They knew where you were. I was watching through the mirrors of some of the cops, see if we could find you through them. Some grocery store owner called in someone she thought looked like Mardon yesterday. We had planned to grab you before the cops showed up, be gone before they got here. They are on their way here right now. I saw it in the mirrors."

Snart cocks a gun and puts it to Scudder's skull.

"Sounds like just another reason to kill you."

"You won't escape. Your girl can't teleport far enough away. They'll find you. I can use the mirrors to get us all out of here."

"And why wouldn't you just leave us in your little Mirror Verse and wait for us to die?"

"Damn it Snart, we don't have time for…"

Axel busts into the cabin.

"There's helicopters and drones and shit coming. We gotta bail, like stat."

"Mardon, blow as many of them away as possible."

"Got it." Mardon follows Axel back outside. Roy can hear the telltale sound of thunder and the wind whipping through the trees.

"Listen to me Snart. I want to call a truce. Those bastards are after us as well, they'll kill us if they think we are working with you. We need to escape just as badly as you do."

"You expect me to believe that you won't betray us?"

"I'm thinking you don't have a choice. They will send everything after you. You're trapped here. The woods have hidden you but they've also cut off your main means of escape. I still have mine."

Snart glances over at Lisa. She looks disapprovingly at the two new metahumans.

"We'll take our chances."

Snart pistol whips Scudder knocking him to the ground.

"Sam? Sam! What have you done to him?"

"Keep your mouth shut Dillon and you might just live through this. Well, we won't kill you. Don't know what the cops have in store."

"Oh shit."

Roy turns towards Axel voice. The young man is standing in the doorway, his eyes wide.

"That's a freaking tank."

It was, in fact, a freaking tank. It was coming up the road, knocking down all the trees that got in its way. Scudder and Dillon had distracted them, they lost focus. Didn't keep an eye on the road like they should have.

Within seconds, bullets are flying through the walls of the cabin. The Rogues hit the ground as wood and glass splinters around them.

There's a break in the shooting and Lisa pulls her gun to aim it out a broken window.

"Looks like they're done giving fair warning."

"Mardon, clear the…"

Snart doesn't even get to finish the order before Shawna has grabbed ahold of Roy. He's in the woods just outside the cabin, the other Rogues suddenly appear just as quickly. Shawna even grabs Scudder and Dillon.

The question of why seems a bit redundant as he watches the tank fire a round into the cabin. The cabin explodes in a large fireball.

Roy had thought houses only exploded like that in action movies.

"So much for a defensible position." Mardon is still trying to blow the helicopters and drones away, has even started a downpour, but it isn't working. Anything stronger and he risks the Rogues getting pulled into it. There's too many trees, too much debris that could cause unintended damage.

Their enemies were prepared.

The Rogues aren't.

They only have two guns with three clips between them. Roy's powers are barely working. Shawna's jumps won't get them far enough away. The non meta members don't have any of their regular gear or tricks. And Mardon's powers won't last long enough for them to escape, especially if one of the cops gets a lucky shot and takes him down.

Roy doesn't even consider the possibility that Snart would use his own powers. It's clear the man isn't factoring it in to his decision either. Digger appears beside Snart, Roy wasn't even aware the man had slipped away.

"They're coming up through the woods in teams, they've got vehicles blocking the road and the old forest paths. There will be helicopters out of Mardon's range, watching the mountains. Anywhere Shawna jumps to, they will immediately have us on heat sensors."

Snart listens to Digger's words then looks at Scudder and Dillon on the ground. Lisa gives her brother a look.

"Lenny, they might be our only…"

"He'll betray us."

"We don't got a choice Snart." Mick growls.

Snart grabs Scudder off the floor and slams him against a tree.

"You do anything I don't like and I will make damn sure your death is as painful as possible."

"Truce."

Scudder sticks out a hand.

Snart takes it begrudgingly.

"Truce." He pulls the tie off of Scudder's eyes.

"I need something reflective. A mirror works best but anything will do…"

Lisa pulls a small mirror out of her jacket and hands it over to Scudder.

"Since it's not large enough for you to walk through, I have to go in first and then pull you all in."

Snart puts his gun to Dillon's head.

"By all means, go ahead."

Scudder looks at Dillon, the anger in his eyes clear.

"Faster might be better!" Roy turns at Mardon's shout. The tank is turning towards their position. Ready to fire again.

"Mardon, keep the wind up as long as you can."

Scudder disappears into the mirror. His hand the only thing still sticking out of it. Lisa hesitantly takes Scudder's hand and is pulled through first. One by one, all of the Rogues follow suit. Snart and Dillon are the last to enter the Mirror Verse.

The process of being pulled in was no less strange this time than it had been only a little while ago.

The shadows were still ever prevalent, but there seemed to be a more definite sense of up and down. Most likely to do with Scudder keeping control of the space. Not deliberately trying to keep them disoriented like he must have been earlier.

They all stand there for a moment, looking around the large area. The mirror they were pulled through suddenly cracks and shatters behind them. Scudder lowers his hand.

"Just ensuring they can't follow us."

Axel wanders slightly away from the group. His hand reaching towards a particularly dark area.

"This place is super creepy. What's in these like pitch black areas?"

"That's where I keep my mirror monsters."

Axel retracts his hand.

"What really?"

"No."

Scudder rolls his eyes. Axel sticks his tongue out.

"Nice place." Cold's sarcasm is clear. He's still holding the gun to Dillon.

"We have a truce Cold, let Rosa go."

"A truce doesn't mean I trust you. How about you pop us out somewhere in the real world and I'll let your little lady go."

Scudder grits his teeth.

"Fine. Follow me."

They walk forward, or whatever constitutes direction in this place. They pass thousands of mirrors as they move. Roy glimpses different things. People sitting on their couches, children playing in schoolyards. It's all so…  
"So you're like a total perv, huh?" Shawna stops to look at a man shaving his beard in a bathroom mirror.

"Any reflective surface can become a portal if I need it to be. I don't sit in here and watch people."

"Psh, that's what I'd be doing all day. Think you can find the bedroom mirror of Angelina Jolie for me real quick? Just want a quick peek."

Lisa slaps Digger on the side of the head.

"Don't be disgusting Boomer."

"What? Come on, like you're not all thinking it? We could look in on anybody!"

"Yes…we could." Cold stops walking. "Can you find Lex Luthor's office?"

Scudder turns.

"If I had enough time. I have to be able to find the place first. It's not as easy as just thinking it. I have to search through millions and millions…"

Snart waves off Scudder's words.

"I'm not planning a raid right this second. Just trying to figure out how…useful this little truce of ours really is."

Eventually they stop in front of a full length mirror. It looks like it leads into a run down motel.

"You can just walk through…"

Digger comes up behind Scudder and puts his knife at the man's back.

"Sounds like a good idea mate. You and me will just take a little look see first."

Scudder looks annoyed but moves through the mirror with Digger right behind him.

They wait in silence for several minutes. They can see every time Digger or Scudder passes in front of the mirror.

"So tell me Rosa, how did a girl like you get mixed up in all this? Scudder can't be that good in bed."

Lisa is looking Dillon up and down, as though trying to figure out exactly why anyone would follow Scudder anywhere.

"Sam knows what he's doing…"

"Except his little ambush didn't work."

She glares at Mick. Well, as much as she can. Snart has removed her blindfold, but has her hands tied.

"Sam has power you can't imagine."

Mardon snorts.

"He can travel places quickly. Shawna can do that and you don't see her acting like a dick about it."

"Aw, such a sweet talker Mardon." Shawna smirks and leans against Mardon's shoulder.

"Axel. Stop straying."

Axel turns around at Cold's voice. He walks back towards the group.

"I mean, this is cool and all, but like, is this all he can do?"

"All he can do? All he can do? Are you insane? He created an entire universe…"

"Big empty universe. Where's the dragons? Or the monsters that will eat our faces, or the people who have butts on the front? Why aren't there like ghost reflections trying to rip our throats out? I would even take just like a version of me with a goatee wandering around. I mean…It's just empty. Your dude has like zero imagination if he created this place. Cause it is a total bummer. Unless that's was he was going for. The Bummer Verse."

Dillon seemed the most upset about the fact that Axel didn't find anything impressive about the Mirror Verse, than the fact that Snart still had a gun on her.

"I can spy on people with mini bot drones. And yea, like Mark said, Shawna can teleport if there's cameras and there's cameras literally everywhere so…It's not like this is anything special."

Before Dillon could get really worked up, Scudder stuck his head through the mirror.

"Your pit bull says it's safe."

Cold glances around Scudder to see Digger making a hand motion.

They all go through the mirror. Once again, Snart and Dillon are last. Once they are through, Roy can see how small and run down the room is.

"It's an abandoned motel in a remote region of Italy. Don't think they'll be looking for you halfway across the world."

"They're looking for us everywhere."

The Rogues stand on one side of the room, Dillon and Scudder on the other. It was clear from the way that Scudder stayed close to the mirror that he expected Snart to kill both of them at any moment.

"Relax Scudder. We have a truce, remember?"

"You'll forgive me if your word means nothing to me."

"Of course, bad blood and all that. And I'm not going to lie, the idea of killing both of you did cross my mind. But…now I think you might actually be useful."

"You want to use my mirrors to spy on Luthor."

"And who said you were just a pretty face."

"Sam…"

Dillon was looking at Scudder. It was clear she just wanted them to bolt back through the mirror.

"What would be in it for us to help you?"

Cold smirked.

"We expose Luthor and we expose a huge conspiracy. I've found that government officials like to show their magnanimity towards those who have been falsely accused. Pardons. Multimillions dollar payouts. That sort of thing. You help us clear our names, and we will consider you…honorary Rogues."

"Why the hell would we want to be a part of your little group?"

"Because it means that any time either or you are arrested, we would be willing to break you out. You would never spend another night in jail, never have to worry that Luthor was going to come in and rip your powers away. Trust me Scudder, you would much rather be with us in this fight than against us."

"Seems like Luthor kicked your asses last time." Dillon was glaring as Snart got closer.

"He did. Of course, we can kill both of you right now if you would prefer."

Dillon and Scudder move, ready to fight. Roy watches with some amusement as Shawna appears between Scudder and the mirror. Preventing him from being able to touch his means of escape.

"Going somewhere partner?"

Snart puts a hand up when it looks like the two newcomers might just start swinging.

"Look, we don't want to kill you. Not after you so graciously helped us escape. Even if we were only in danger because of you. For all we know, the cops followed you to us. So since I have forgiven you for that, you now owe me."

"You're a real prick."

"I am. But I'm also willing to let you live Scudder. I would suggest you accept my olive branch. The truce stands. You help us get a lock on Luthor. And then you and your girlfriend can run off into the sunset. What do you say?"

Scudder looks back at Dillon. She doesn't look thrilled by the idea of a partnership with the Rogues. Eventually, she nods her head.

Scudder looks back at Cold.

"Fine. You've got a deal."

"Excellent. I've got a good feeling about this partnership."

Snart is smiling as he says it but there is a glint in his eyes, promising a painful death if Scudder or Dillon make one move he doesn't like.

Scudder is giving Snart the same look.

Yea. This is going to go great.

* * *

Thing about shitty motels is they're the same no matter where you are. A shitty motel in Kansas is the same as a shitty motel in Italy. Damp carpets, bugs in the bathtub, sheets so thin and scratchy you're better off without them. Mirror boy said this motel had been abandoned two years ago. That's why it's so bad off. Why no one will care if they're there.

He's stayed in motels that were still open that were worse than this one. Don't mean he's excited about it. Mattress is shit. Stuffing coming out of it, bits of it on the floor are black. Don't think they'll be here too long to worry about the mold growing everywhere.

All that matters is they're somewhere they won't be noticed. Somewhere so far away, most people don't got TVs. Or any reason to read American newspapers.

First thing Mick does is goes to the nearest market. Buys as much food and beer as he can carry. Nobody gives him a second look when he buys a couple lighters.

A small bottle of kerosene.

It relieves a tension in his shoulders to just be able to carry them around. Quiets his mind just a little bit to know they're in his pockets.

Feels like being able to breathe again.

For the first time since all the shit in Metropolis went down, Mick almost feels like he can relax.

Knows he can't. Not with Scudder and Dillon with them now. And the whole world still after them. But at least he got his fire back with him.

Axel had been running his mouth earlier. Talking about how he was going to try and find some electronics to mess around with. Showed him a sketch. Looked like a pair of brass knuckles.

Mick had already been a couple beers in at that point. Hadn't been paying too much attention to it.

Just nodded to the kid before he disappeared. Least Axel would be able to find something to do that wouldn't annoy any of them for awhile. Kid had too much damn energy.

They are all relieved to just have some space. Mick knows most of them was avoiding him back at the cabin. Which was probably good for everybody. Even going off into the woods didn't help most days.

Most days when he wanted to just burn it all down and walk away.

He'd gone out the first time, after punching Snart, just trying to get some space from him. That's all he needed. Had picked up some twigs along the way, some dried moss. Was halfway through trying to start a fire before he realized it wouldn't work. His hands too messed up to keep up the speed needed to start a little fire.

So he'd sat down on a little rock. Tried to meditate.

He'd almost laughed out loud. Trying to meditate.

His anger management counselor would be so proud. Hadn't done much at first. But then he realized he could sort of…unfocus his mind. Like he did around fire. Just let time pass without anything happening.

He's out there one day, just sitting, watching the water. Trying not to think about nothing, when a lighter is dropped in his lap.

He looked up and it was Lisa. She looked a little upset, but just looked at him for a moment.

"Do what you have to do."

She had walked away after that. Never mentioned it again. Probably didn't even tell her brother she'd bought it. Was a risk. Not like the cops could track every time someone bought a Bic at a gas station, but still. They weren't even buying Roy pens and paper at the time. Just in case.

He'd just held it. Couldn't light it with his hands all wrapped. But just holding it was enough at first. Was a couple days he almost ripped the bandages off with his teeth just to flick the little lighter a couple times. Just to see the hint of a spark.

Shawna had given him an earful about it when he finally broke down and did it. Especially the time his bandages had gotten a little burnt. Took him hundreds of tries each time to get his hands to work right. Get them to move that little wheel just enough.

It had been like drops of water to a man dying of thirst. Barely nothing. Still, it had been enough to keep him from killing anybody.

Even Harkness hadn't started shit with him at the cabin. And Harkness starts shit with everybody. That had pissed him off too. He was in the mood for a fight and none of them would give it to him.

Not even Snart.

Which is who he really wanted to fight, if he was being honest. Knock him down, make him bleed a little. Get the anger out, way Mick always ended up doing.

He can tell it's all an act.

Snart acting like he's back to normal. Like he ain't resisting the urge to touch the collar on his neck every two seconds. Mick can see it every time the guy's hands twitch.

Act ain't going to last long.

Mick knows how long Snart can keep things bottled up. Years if he has to. But it always comes rushing out. Someone always ends up dead. And it's usually Mick that's gotta dump the body in some river somewhere. Or burn it up…

Guess they'll be using rivers and swamps and shit more often now.

He moves slightly and feels the lighter in his pocket against his leg. Takes a breath. It's still there. Few more days and Shawna's saying they'll take the bandages off. Start working on exercises to make them move right again. Says he'll be starting fires again in no time.

Be just like it's always been.

Being the way he is, people expect him to be able to remember his first fire. The first one he set, the first lighter he owned. First time he realized wasn't something right about the way he liked to watch it.

He don't really.

Told a couple stories over the years. In prison mostly, talking about how he burned up animals and stuff when he was young. Liked to hear them scream and all that sociopath nonsense.

Snart made up most of those stories for him. Told him it would keep people away from them in juvie.

It did for the most part.

Except, after awhile, he had told the stories so many times he started thinking some of it was true. Started thinking maybe he did get his first lighter by stealing it out of his old man's tool box. That he spent hours setting small piles of grass on fire, only stopping when his dad caught him. Gave Mick the back of his belt and sent him to bed without supper.

That last part did happen a lot. Especially as he got older and he did start setting fires out in the fields. Course he always dug a little fire pit. And he never sacrificed animals or nothing to it. Just felt peaceful to him.

No one really remembers the first time they saw something like a fire. Likely he was a baby, his mom carrying him around at some bonfire party or a fireplace in some neighbor's house.

Maybe if they was alive, they'd say that even when he was a few months old, he would just stare and stare at the fire. Course that could just be them looking at things then, through what they know now. Adding details that never existed, make things sound better.

Everyone's got a nice story.

Everyone can suddenly remember the seminal moments of their life, even if they was only two or three when it happened. Somehow, everyone can link where it all started.

Mick's first memory is when his mom dropped him off at preschool and he had chewing gum in his mouth but they wasn't allowed to have chewing gum, so he started running after her car.

Crying.

Not the sort of thing you tell to a bunch of thieves and murderers when you're in lock up.

So his first memory became watching the flame on his grandmother's stove, and almost burning himself when he tried to touch it. Len had recommended adding something about Mick actually turning the stove on and almost burning the house down. But Mick figured actually burning your parents alive, meant you didn't need to invent stories about almost killing your grandmother.

He'd never met his grandmother. But it was the kind of story people liked to hear. The kind of thing that reinforced what they thought of you anyway.

And that was always Len's thing.

Make people believe you're just the one thing.

Mick was just a pyromaniac.

Always had been. Always would be. Nothing else about him worth talking about.

Figure that's the game they'll play with Scudder and Dillon. Mick's kept his mouth shut. Let Snart do all the talking, like always. Though Mick still wants to punch his lights out every time he opens his mouth.

Knows Snart can tell too. Sees the way he keeps looking at Mick out of the corner of his eye. Like watching a dog that's growling, just waiting for the chance to bite.

Beer's cold at least.

Axel got all the power up and going in the rooms. The fridge in the kitchen is the only one they could get working. Rest were all rusted out or covered in mold. Roy said something about seeing mold like that swallow a man whole. So they just gotta deal with one fridge and one sparky microwave.

Mick ain't going to complain.

Cold beer is cold beer.

He grabs one and sits down at the little table. Takes him a few tries to get the bottle cap off.

More than a couple.

He's about two seconds from just smashing the neck against the table and drinking from a jagged bottleneck, when the cap finally gives way.

He's gotta use both his hands, still all wrapped up in bandages, to even get the thing close to his mouth.

Mick curses as the bottle falls from his hands. It crashes onto the ground. The liquid pools around his socks. He growls at the wasted beer. Third damn bottle in the last…

"Need a hand hot stuff?"

Mick looks up from the mess on the ground. The new chick is standing in the doorway.

Mick just grunts.

She seems to get the message and walks over to the fridge. She pulls open the handle and grabs a beer. She pulls off the cap and hands it over to Mick.

He gives her another grunt before carefully picking it up and attempting to drink it down. Bunch of it ends up on his shirt but he don't care at this point.

Just needs to get enough in him to get drunk.

"Gotta say. If I was in your shoes, I don't think I would be handling this as well as you."

Mick ignores her. Her and Scudder are only here cause they might be useful. Cause the Rogues need a couple people whose faces ain't plastered all over every TV and newspaper in the world. Second they ain't useful, Mick figures Snart will just kill them both.

Especially since Scudder still seems to want to kill Snart.

Snart had given them the rundown. About how the last job he pulled with them had ended. Only the particle accelerator had stopped Scudder from getting a bullet to the brain.

Way Mick figures it, the man is past due. Just waiting for that bullet from years ago to finally catch up with him.

Snart hadn't said much about Dillon. Just that she had been a part of the crew. Did her part, but too willing to just follow Scudder around. Do whatever he says.

Love, apparently.

Mick finishes off the beer and wipes his chin on his sleeve.

Chick is still standing there looking at him. Mick just raises an eyebrow.

"I just think it's impressive how you've managed to..."

"I ain't interested in talking. Thanks for the beer, but you can go now sweetheart."

Mick figures that'll be it. She'll go back to whatever room she's holed up in and ignore Mick like she's been doing since they got here.

She sits down in the chair across from him.

Now he's annoyed.

He ain't in the mood to talk to some chick who thinks she understands what he's going through.

Ain't even that bad really.

Still got both his eyes. Shawna had always said it would take a long time for his hands to work again.

He ain't stupid. He knows they might not ever work right again. Knows he might spend the rest of his life spilling beer all over himself.

But what was he going to do? Cry about it?

He's got other shit to do. Just another set of scars, these will heal up as best they can and he'll keep going. Hardly the worst fire he's ever been through. And it ain't going to be the last.

He ain't going to stop until there's nothing left of him but ash.

"Look. I know that all of you don't trust us. And believe me the feeling is mutual. If there was any other way, me and Sam would be out of here in a heartbeat. I'm just trying to make the situation a little more bearable for all of us."

"By getting me drunk?"

She smirks.

"By trying to be, if not friendly, at least professional. We're all thieves here, wanting to get back to what we had before. Just because we are all on the run for our lives from shady government agencies and murderous billionaires, doesn't mean we have to be miserable."

Girl hands him another beer.

Mick manages to down almost the whole thing with barely a drop spilled.

"You think we're suddenly going to forget that you tried to kill us?"

"No more than I'm going to forget how Snart put a gun to Sam's head and was going to pull the trigger…I'm just saying, maybe we all need to just try to put that behind us until this is all over. Then we can all go back to hating each other."

Mick didn't hate them. Not anymore than he hated anyone else who ever crossed him. Just people who needed to be dealt with.

"So you thought we'd bond? Is that it? Why not go give Shawna or Lisa a try. You girls can all talk about your makeup and hair. Bond over a copy of Vogue magazine."

Girl is still smiling. Keeps looking at Mick, real intense like.

She puts a hand on his arm. He glances at it. Can barely feel it through all the scar tissue.

"I don't think Lisa wants to get to know me. She's so protective of her brother. It's like the man can do no wrong in her eyes. Even when he's gotten you all so deep into this."

Mick's trying to figure out her game. Figure out why she'd try to come to him out of everybody. Like he would give a shit about her and Scudder.

She removes her hand.

"I'll clean up this glass."

She bends over and picks up the shards of the broken bottle. Then throws them in a nearby trash can, she tosses a napkin over the spilled beer.

"Goodnight Mick."

Mick doesn't respond.

Something not right about that girl.

Mick snorts.

Something not right with all of them.

And it ain't like she said anything he didn't already know. Lisa thinks the sun shines out of her brother's ass.

Even thought it's all Snart's fault that Mick's hands are like this.

It's Snart's fault that Mick's face is all scarred up. That he got all burned. That his hands ache all the time. That he can't do anything with them.

Snart was always like that. Always thinking his plans will go off without a hitch, then leaving Mick to be the one that's gotta take the hits when things go sideways. How many scars does he have because Snart had to go and run off his mouth? Because Snart thought he was the smartest guy out there?

All the while talking down to Mick like he's just some idiot. Some hired muscle. That son of a bitch never gave a damn about the cost to Mick.

He should light that bastard up. See how long it takes for Mick to melt through that layer of ice. He knows the exact accelerant. He wonders what color Snart will be when he burns. He can pour lighter fluid over him while he sleeps. Have to make it so he dies from the burns before he manages to get the collar of his neck. He should…

Mick stops drinking his beer. The rest of it spills over his shirt.

He sets his half empty beer bottle down.

Looks like he needs a refresher on that anger management class.

He's thought about beating the shit out of Snart before, done it once or twice. That ain't nothing new. Thought about lighting him up when they were real pissed at each other, but he ain't never done it.

Must just be the shitty beer. And the cabin fever. And that he ain't started a good fire in too long.

Ain't like he'd really do it. Kill Snart. It's just cause his hands were hurting him and he wants to kill something for it.

He hasn't gotten a chance to burn anything since the explosion. And his gun is gone so he don't even got an easy way to set fires anymore.

He can't use a lighter without taking a thousand tries. Or strike a match.

It's making his skin crawl. Thinking he might not be able to start another fire again.

He starts making a list in his head of all the ways he could start a fire that don't require dexterity of his hands. There's still dozens, hundreds, of ways he could do it.

This ain't nothing but a setback.

Of all the things that he's wanted to kill Snart for over the years, this ain't even in the top ten.

Just drank too much was all. Too tired from their last mad escape.

He stands up and heads to his room.

He shakes off the last vestiges of those random thoughts. He ain't going to kill Snart.

Even if the bastard deserves it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe it took this long to bring in Mirror Master and Top. Like I didn't already have enough characters to keep track of.


	4. Chapter 4

Things were better over the next couple days. Well, relatively at least. There was this constant underlying tension that permeated the days. The Rogues certain they would wake up and find that Scudder and Dillon had sold them out.

Roy had woken one night to the sound of thunder, later confirmed to not have been caused by Mardon, and it had jolted him from his bed. He was up, with his shoes on, ready to fight or run, all within a few seconds. It had become such second nature for so long, it was still ingrained in him. Any time he heard thunder, or saw lightening, he assumed that it was because Mardon was covering their escape or trying to destroy the drones that had found them again.

He had been embarrassed for a moment, in the middle of the night, standing in his bedroom, staring out into the dark landscape around their little motel. Embarrassed that he had seemingly forgotten that thunder could occur for other reasons than to signal a fight.

They had lived with that paranoia for the past few months. So certain that any moment would find them being carted off to have their powers ripped away. Or to be executed in the street.

Roy wondered if he was the only one waking up in the middle of the night at the smallest sound.

The nearby town they were hiding in was small, but did occasionally get tourists. People who moved there "to get away from it all." Most didn't last very long and returned to the world of Wi-Fi and consistently hot water. So none of the locals really batted an eye at this new collection of people coming into their shops and bars.

It also seemed to help that a few years ago, a group of 30 Americans had tried to open a sort of commune in the hills. One of those utopian villages. Everyone working towards the same goal, everyone helping to farm and work and build the houses. No money, just exchanging work for food. Apparently the Americans had come into town often in the beginning. Talking about how they had figured it all out, how to live a sustainable, peaceful life. How they would finally show the world how humanity was supposed to coexist.

It had failed within 8 months.

The townspeople had seen that the Rogues were predominantly Americans and had simply assumed it was the same sort of thing. Roy got the distinct feeling that they were being charged double what anyone local had to pay for goods. Kept trying to sell them all kinds of useless stuff. Scarves and sweaters one day, baskets and purses the next. All the things the townspeople claimed would be essential to survival.

Those that spoke English didn't ask them why they were there, though Snart had predictably come up with a plausible back story. Saying he had been an investor in the commune that had failed. Wanted to see if he could get it going with a smaller group this time at the start.

No one asked.

No one seemed to care why they were there, just that they had money.

Well, Scudder and Dillon had money. Which, considering Scudder could just reach into a bank and grab a couple thousand dollars whenever he felt like it, became the communal money. Scudder had frowned when Digger had taken a few hundred and come back with nothing but alcohol but had kept his mouth shut about it.

Not worth starting a fight over.

Not worth someone dying over.

Which was how a fight would end between the two factions. Too much mistrust. Too much bad blood between Scudder and Snart.

Roy has found that when working with people who have tried to kill you, it's best not to be too confrontational. Find out what they want, figure out if they are going to try and kill you again, be ready to kill them if you have to.

Don't continually antagonize them by talking down to them.

Although it was nice to see Snart back to some semblance of his former self. Even if it was just so that Scudder and Dillon didn't detect any weakness in the leader of the Rogues. Roy wanted to believe that it wasn't all an act. That Snart was starting to regain some of his control back.

It had been a few days into their tense partnership that Snart had begun to act dismissive of Scudder's input. Of course, it had also been a few days of Scudder talking over anyone who would attempt conversation.

Claiming since he was the most powerful, he should be the leader.

Roy had tipped a beer at Mark during one of Scudder's particularly loquacious speeches.

"This is what you used to sound like."

Mark had thrown a piece of bread at Roy's face and the two had continued to ignore Scudder's attempts to get them to listen to him.

Everyone, except Mick, seemed to be getting back to center. Now that they had some semblance of security, even if it obviously wouldn't last. Nothing quiet ever did for them.

Roy and Mardon had spent a few hours walking along the hillside the other day. Mardon still couldn't use his powers, in case they could be tracked. But he kept making Roy walk up this hillside, and stand at the very top. Roy would sit off to the side and sketch. While Mardon stood there and let the winds push him slightly. The feeling of the wind rushing around him, of almost pushing him off the edge was oddly calming to Mardon.

Roy found his sketches were…simplistic. He wouldn't exactly call them doodles, but he wasn't truly focusing on them the way he normally did.

"Maybe you just need, inspiration or something." Mardon was shouting over the gusting wind. Not the best place to try and sketch, with the wind blowing his pages constantly. But it was calming in an odd way. Not in the same way that Mardon apparently found almost being blown away to be calming. But there was something about being able to see for miles in each direction, to not be able to hear anything but the sound of the wind.

"Thanks, I hadn't thought of that."

Mardon came over and laid down on the ground beside Roy.

"Think it's because your powers are still jacked up?"

"I've had periods of not being able to paint before, lacking inspiration. This is nothing new."

"Well, sorry you got your period." Mardon was smirking, and looking at Roy out of the corner of his eye.

"Hilarious."

Roy went back to just making small lines on the page. He wasn't even shading correctly for god's sake. The town in the distance might as well have been drawn by a middle schooler. He should just start drawing stick figures at this point. They'd fit right into his ridiculously simplistic sketch.

"Seriously. You sure it's not power related?"

"I'm sure."

"Hm."

"What?"

"Nothing, just thinking."

Roy put down his pad of paper and stared directly at Mardon.

"A rare occurrence, you have my full attention."

Mardon ignored Roy's tone and pushed himself up on to one elbow.

"Was pure luck Scudder and Dillon showed up. If we hadn't gotten snatched by them, we'd be in a prison cell somewhere. Couldn't have escaped that assault on our own. Not even Snart could figure a way out of that one."

"Unless they lead them to us. Trying to convince us to work with them, by not giving us an option."

"Nah. Scudder's an asshole sure, but I don't know if he's that smart. "

They sat in silence for a few moments. Mardon was idly picking grass out of the ground and watching it blow away in the wind. Eventually he stopped, his eyes focused and hard on the town below them.

"Don't care if I have to wipe out all of Metropolis to kill Luthor. I'm ready for this shit to just be over and done with."

Roy found he couldn't argue with that. They were all ready to finish this.

Spending time away from each other was helping with the tension that had built up over the past few months. Either by going into the town, or walking through the hillside, or just by having their own rooms again, it started to feel like they were all getting back to being on the same page. Finally, Lisa called them all together for a meeting. She, Cold, and Scudder had been having several conversations about how to move forward. What their next plan of attack should be.

"Luthor thinks that…"

Digger raised his hand. Snart sighed.

"Yes, Digger."

"No offense boss man…and lady, but are we really going back to that shit? I mean, don't get me wrong, nothing I like better than a good fight. But, seems like we got a nice little set up here. Maybe we find somewhere with a private beach and just forget about all this Luthor and Cadmus nonsense."

Lisa frowned at Digger's dismissive tone.

"You want to let Luthor get away with this? With what he did to us?"

"What I'm saying is, I've seen this type of shit. Even the Wall would come up against someone with more power and resources than her every so often. Some people you can't take down in a good old fashioned street fight. People like Luthor…"

"Spend a lot of time around billionaires do you Harkness?" Scudder was looking at Digger with something akin to outright disgust. Scudder had a tendency to rub the Rogues the wrong way. Between his attitude about his powers, to his condescending tone, to the fact that there was absolutely no trust between them, Scudder had managed to annoy almost every member of the Rogues.

"Billionaires? Nah, not really my scene. Power hungry madmen? Yea, I got a bit of experience with that. All I'm saying is, even if we do get our names cleared, don't think we can win on all fronts. Might have to pick and choose."

Scudder waved a dismissive hand at Digger's words.

"Perhaps that's why you're not a part of the planning stages. Tell you what, when we need someone to stab something, we'll let you know."

"Believe me mate, you'll be the first to know."

Scudder opened his mouth, but Snart interrupted.

"I appreciate your expertise Digger. But right now, if we ever want to be able to walk down a street again, we have to take care of Luthor."

Digger picks up his beer and tips it towards Snart.

"You got it boss."

"Like I was saying. With Scudder's ability we should be able to find Luthor's main office. Killing him won't exactly clear our names. So we need to find more information. We can watch him, see where he goes. If we can find something to blackmail him with, then we can make a move."

Lisa nodded in agreement with her brother.

"Recon only at this point. We still aren't one hundred percent. Our meta members can't use their powers without being detected, though Axel has some ideas he is working on. So until all of our members are ready for a fight, we are going to stay hidden. And stay ready."

Roy tried not to think on the fact that his powers were the ones Lisa was talking about. Roy was certain that Shawna and Mardon's powers were back and ready. He hadn't tried to use his since their escape. Hoping that whatever temporary issue he was having, could be solved by simply letting his powers rest.

Scudder had found Luthor's offices the next day. Thankfully Luthor was a traditional evil billionaire. His office was on the 64th floor of a skyscraper. He had large glass windows in almost every part of his four floors of offices. And in the personal gym he had on the 63rd floor. Which also boasted a personal pool.

They sat in shifts, sitting in the Mirror Verse, watching Luthor come into work every day at exactly 5:15 am. Working until well past 6 or 7 each night. Going home. Eating a meal at his 30 person dining room table, prepared by a professional chef. Going to the occasional gala or fundraiser.

"Who knew watching a billionaire could be so boring."

Roy agreed with Shawna's assessment. All the man did was work. And so far, they hadn't found anything they could use against him. Initially they couldn't hear anything that was being said. But the moment the man went into a shady laboratory or met with someone who wasn't on his calendar, they had small microbots that Axel had created that they would send through the mirror.

They had yet to be able to deploy them.

The man only ever went to his office, public events surrounded by cameras, then to his home.

After a week, they were able to figure out the schedule of the guards, and Scudder was able to divert the camera long enough to plant a bug in his office.

The added sound did nothing for their surveillance.

"He's gotta know someone might be watching right? Like that is legit the only thing that makes sense to me. Otherwise, the idea of having copious amounts of wealth is really starting to feel like a let down."

"I'm sure there are more interesting billionaires."

"Like who? Name one billionaire you think would be fun to peek in on, I bet we could find out more interesting stuff in two seconds that we would ever learn here."

Roy stood up from his chair next to Shawna and stretched out his legs by walking around. It must be quite the odd scene. Two chairs set in front of several mirrors, a few at Luthor's office, a few in his house, even one or two linked to his cars. And nothing but darkness and shadows surrounding them.

The light from the mirrors the only thing illuminating the vast empty space.

Roy was beginning to hate the Mirror Verse. It wasn't that it wasn't convenient. A place where the Flash or Luthor or the cops could never reach them. To be able to travel from one side of the world to the other, almost instantaneously, was saving them from having to spend all their time worrying that they would be found.

It was how boring the entire place was. Axel had been right, if Scudder had made this place up then it was the most unimaginative place in existence. It was just…shadows.

And unlike the normal world, where there was occasionally a tree or some buildings to break up the monotonous shades of gray in which Roy lived his life, here there was nothing but the shifting tones.

It had taken Digger all of thirty seconds to make a Fifty Shades of Gray joke the last time he had been in here. And then spend the next two hours of his shift with Roy coming up with every variation of joke he could think of.

There was no chance that you would stumble upon anything interesting here. All there was, was the mirrors. Most of which were staring at bathroom walls, or bedroom walls. Or living room walls. People only sporadically moving in front of them for a few seconds before going about their business.

They couldn't listen in to what the people were saying, the sound distorted and backwards. Digger said even lip reading was impossible.

Digger never specified if he could read lips in the first place but none of the rest of them could so it didn't matter either way.

Hartley would have been able to do that. Or figure out a way to change the audio so they could hear people correctly, without having to plant bugs. Something to do with vibrations no doubt. He briefly thinks of asking Scudder if he could find a mirror showing how Hartley was doing. But then he had quickly disregarded the thought. Would be rather difficult to explain to the other Rogues. Unless he kept it under the pretense of surveillance. Pretend that it would be in their best interest to make sure Hartley hasn't managed to track them.

He walks around a little more then sits back in the chair next to Shawna

"Do you think there is more to this place than just…" Roy sort of waves his hands around.

"What, another super secret hidden area tucked away inside of a pocket universe?"

Roy smiled slightly.

"No, I suppose it's all just a little…"

"Boring."

"Yes."

Shawna looked back at the mirror. Luthor was reading over some type of contract.

"Axel was right. This place is a bummer. You'd think it would be more interesting to spy on people all day. I mean that's basically what half the reality shows on TV are about. But it's like, I haven't seen anyone throw a drink in someone's face or just start screaming for no reason. It's like reality TV has lied to me about how interesting people's personal lives are."

"What a shock."

"I know right. We are watching a billionaire and I haven't seen a since Real Housewife anywhere. I mean, where are the bitches screaming at each other about ruining someone's Kentucky Derby party by wearing too big of a hat? Give me something here Luthor. Not to mention I ran out of popcorn like fifteen minutes ago."

She gives the bowl a little shake in Roy's direction. He stares at her for all of ten seconds.

"I'll get more."

She smiles and hands him the bowl.

"My hero."

Roy takes the empty popcorn bowl from Shawna and heads back through the mirror leading into the lobby of their motel. Snart is standing by the check in counter, looking through some kind of ledger.

"Anything?"

Roy shakes his head at Snart's question. Though from the man's tone, Roy was certain he knew the answer before he asked.

"All he does is work and sleep."

"I suppose he had to earn his money somehow."

"Hm."

Roy walked over to the microwave. The wires leading to the outlet were frayed. The microwave was brown and tan and was distinctly from the seventies. Axel had affectionately named the old thing Sparky. Even adorning a few googly eyes to the front of it.

Shawna had asked Mick if it would catch fire if they used it too much.

His response of "Hopefully" wasn't too encouraging.

Still, this popcorn wasn't going to pop itself.

"What do you think of Scudder and Dillon?"

"Scudder likes the sound of his own voice. Maybe even more than Digger."

"And Dillon?"

Roy tried to think of anything to say about the petite blonde.

"She mainly just hangs off of Scudder. I don't know that I've spoken to her."

"Anything else?"

"You know them better than I would."

"Yes, and I'm trying to make sure my…dislike of them isn't clouding my judgment."

"You think Scudder is hiding something from us?"

"It does seem odd that Luthor wouldn't do anything but work and go home. Especially since we know that Luthor had a hand in creating Brick Wall. The man likes to be where the action is. He hasn't given a press conference in the past two weeks. Or visited any of his meta depowering labs."

"Scudder was able to manipulate the mirrors in Luthor's office so he couldn't see us planting the bug. Could be he's doing the same thing to us."

"Or Luthor is being extra careful right now. The man might suspect we are working with Scudder after how we disappeared from the cabin. We will give it a little more time. There a few more avenues I want to explore before we make any big moves on Luthor. Don't want to give anything away until the last possible moment."

The microwave beeped. Roy hoped that the burning smell was just a few kernels at the bottom of the bag. And not a signal that the entire wall was about to go up in flames. He pours the bag into the bowl

He steps back through the mirror.

Shawna isn't sitting in the chair.

"Shawna?"

He knows that yelling is a fruitless endeavor here, but it is a bit of an instinct.

He sets the bowl on one of the chairs. Luthor is still sitting at his desk in his office, now on page 163 of the contract.

They aren't supposed to stray too far from the designated mirrors. Scudder said he would be able to find someone lost eventually, though they might have starved to death by the time he did.

Even Scudder didn't know how large this place was, or how it all worked.

Roy thought he could see the outline of someone in the distance.

He walks towards the figure, he knows there was no else it could be besides Shawna. Scudder has to open the portals for anyone to enter. The only one open was the one to the motel. The rest were just windows.

As he got closer he could see Shawna standing there. Staring at…

Oh.

"Shawna."

She doesn't start, doesn't make any sign that he snuck up on her. But he can still tell she is surprised.

"I haven't seen him since…"

Roy could guess who the man in the reflection is. The young brown haired man was currently laying in bed with a woman laying half overtop of him. Shawna's fingers hovered by the glass.

"Why do you think I can see him? There are millions of mirrors. Billions of people. What are the odds I would see him?"

"I don't know."

She sighed slightly.

"You know what the worst part is? I'm not even mad. Why would I be you know? It's been years. Not like I was ever going to go back to him. But…I hate that I wasted so much of my life on someone I don't feel anything for anymore. Does that make sense? People always say things like…a part of you will always love him. What does it mean if you don't feel any of it anymore?"

Roy didn't know how to comfort her. So he just took a step closer and put a hand on her arm. She moved slightly closer to his side.

They stood there for a few more moments.

"If you want, we can throw one of Axel's glitter bombs through."

She barked out a surprised laugh.

"I…that would be pretty great actually. Think it might give us away though. Cold would be pretty pissed."

"Worth it."

"Nah. He's…he's really not."

She smiles then loops her arm through his and starts to pull him away. She doesn't look back.

"Come on Roy. We've got to see what happens when Luthor finishes reading the page he's on. Ten bucks says he licks his thumb and flips to the next page without breaking his stride."

"I say he flips it with his right index finger."

"He's only done that once! Someone likes to live dangerously."

They're heading back to the chairs when Mick steps through the mirror. He starts walking away from them. As far as Roy knows, there aren't any open mirrors that way. Shawna yells after him.

"Mick!"

The pyromaniac doesn't turn, though Roy was certain the man could hear them.

"He's getting worse."

"I know. I was hoping being here would help, like it has for the rest of us. I think him and Snart are just straight up avoiding each other. His hands are doing a little better though. Now that I've been able to get some book on how to do stuff for him."

"Scudder stays around, you can focus on being a nurse full time."

"It is nice not having to lug your guys heavy asses everywhere we go."

Mick has almost completely vanished into the darkness. Roy shares a look with Shawna. She rolls her eyes. But they follow after Mick regardless.

At one point Mick does disappear almost completely.

"Over there."

There's a light. Shining through the shadows. The closer they get, the more Roy realizes what they're looking at.

For a moment, Roy thinks he's looking into hell itself.

An interesting thought considering he has always considered himself an atheist. Well. Agnostic, at least. He's never given it the thought necessary to pick one either way.

For a moment, Roy is just staring in awe. The fire is burning in what appears to be some sort of cave. The embers of the walls occasionally popping out and causing the small flames to grow and move along the floor. It's not like the fires that Mick usually watches. This one is almost…subdued in a way.

"Dillon had Scudder set it up."

Roy starts at Mick's voice. Not even aware the man was standing only a few feet from them. Hidden by the shadows dancing from the firelight.

"That was…nice of her."

"She's alright."

Mick goes back to staring at the flames.

"It's a coal mine. Caught fire in the 70s and hasn't stopped burning since. Will keep burning for another hundred years or more. The town above it had to be abandoned. Cracks in the sidewalk where all the gas pours out."

Roy was never really sure how to respond to Mick when he started on about fire. Especially since everything that had happened recently. With all his extra scars, and his hands.

"Well…we were just..."

Shawna makes an aborted hand gesture then looked to Roy for help.

"Didn't want you to get lost." Roy assumes that sounded as bad to Mick as it did to his own ears.

"Can never be lost with a flame like this. Burning as long as it has. All that's left is the truth."

"Cool…well, I guess we'll get back to…"

"Sometimes it just takes time for the truth to be revealed. But it always is. The fire always exposes who we truly are in the end."

Mick didn't say anything else. Just moved his head in that way that Roy had come to recognize that meant he no longer would be able to hear them if they kept talking.

Roy and Shawna walked back to their chairs in silence. Luthor was still sitting at his desk, reading a contract. Now on page 194.

"Do you think there's something else going on with Mick?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know…it's probably nothing. I mean, Snart and Lisa would know if something was going on. Right?"

They sat quietly in the chairs until Axel and Mardon came in to relieve them.

Roy walked back into the real world. The feeling of disquiet that had been so prevalent the Mirror Verse was not completely gone. But it did lift significantly.

"I always need a shower when I leave that place for some reason." Shawna untangled their limbs then wandered over to where Lisa was looking at something on the office table. The small lobby becoming the main place for planning, eating, and anything other than sleeping really. There was a small pile of electronics in the corner, Axel already beginning to build his arsenal back up.

"Bivolo, good. There's something I need you to fetch me." Scudder wasn't even looking at Roy, just dictating to him from behind the counter, where Snart had been standing earlier.

Roy paused for a moment.

"Fetch you something?" Roy glanced over to Lisa, not entirely sure he had heard that order correctly.

Lisa looked torn between annoyed and amused.

"What Sam is trying to say is he has a little black book with the numbers of some very shady people who might be willing to talk to him about what's been going on in Central since we left."

"Exactly. The Rogues are known terrorists but Rosa and I are just escapees. We can pass ourselves off as desperate to disappear. Needing some passports or fake identities made. Use those contacts as an in to…"

Roy stopped listening to Scudder and looked over at Lisa. She smiled slightly.

"Sam's got a portal to an old safe house of his using the bathroom mirror over there."

"Need me to go with him?" Shawna was laying on the couch, though she raised her head at the conversation. She had clearly been talking to Lisa, but Scudder answered for her.

"No. I can see the book on a table in the basement from the mirror. All he has to do is take two steps and he will have it."

"Maybe I should go with him just…"

"Really? You need two people to grab one small book? No wonder you people got found out so easily, if you can't even do something so simple…"

"If it's so simple, why aren't you taking the two seconds to poof over there and get it? Don't want to get that nice little suit dirty?"

"It's fine, I'll go." Roy wasn't in the mood to listen to an argument. And if Lisa said it was fine then he would go along with it.

"At least someone on this team knows how to follow directions."

Roy rolled his eyes but listened as Scudder told him how to find the correct mirror.

A few seconds later and he was back in the Mirror Verse. It had started to become a more regular occurrence for the Rogues. Going in and out of the place like you were just passing from one room to the next. He barely glanced at the mirrors all around him. Accidentally looking into a mirror and watching a man plucking his nose hairs had put Roy off to finding out what people did when they thought no one was looking.

He sees the mirror he is looking for on his left.

Roy slipped through the mirror. He was in the basement of a safe house that Scudder and Dillon had used prior to becoming metas. A two story house in Opal City, they had bought with ill gotten gains but never had the chance to use before the particle accelerator.

Roy looked around the basement. The book was sitting just…

The floorboards above him creaked.

Roy didn't hesitate. He just jumped back into the mirror.

Never ignore a noise you can't instantly place. Better to feel stupid for a moment than to be dead.

Roy waited for several minutes. No one entered the basement. There was no thundering sound of footsteps, no shouts from cops as they cleared each room.

Roy edged away from the mirror. Allowing him to see out, without anyone being able to see him.

He saw a shadow pass under the door at the top of the stairs.

There was someone there.

Someone waiting.

He needs to tell the others. He can have Axel put a camera here to…

The door creaks open.

Roy wonders what would happen if he tried to activate his powers through a mirror. Would his powers bounce back on him? Or would whatever he tried to use, have the opposite effect? If he tried for anger, would the person feel happiness instead?

Assuming they actually worked of course.

He can see shoes at the top of the stairs. They look like some kind of gym shoe. But the shoes don't move from their place in the doorway. They stand there for a moment. Then they disappear again. He can hear the distorted sound of a voice. A woman he thinks, but he can't get any more.

Eventually Roy has to concede that the woman isn't going to suddenly appear in front of the one point of view that is available to him. If Scudder was here he would be able to instantly be able to access the windows upstairs. Find out who the woman was, help capture her to see what she knows.

This is why that asshole should have come with Roy. Or done it himself.

Roy sighs and treks back to the original mirror, he was going to have to talk about moving the mirrors so they were closer together, at least the ones they would need.

Scudder gives him a look when he emerges empty handed.

"Where's the book?"

"I didn't have time to grab it, there was someone in the house."

"Ridiculous. No one…"

"There was a woman there so I decided to come back. We can…"

"How is it possible for you to screw up something so simple so…"

"Sam." Lisa's voice was calm, but deadly. "Let Roy speak for a moment. Were you seen?"

"No. She never came down the stairs. I couldn't see her, and she couldn't see me. She had a flashlight, thought I heard her talking but it was distorted."

"You said no one knew about that safe house."

"No one did. This is ridiculous, I have to do everything myself."

"Scudder wait…"

Scudder had already walked through the mirror, ignoring Lisa's warning. She touched the mirror but it was just glass.

"What a dick."

Lisa let out a sigh at Shawna's words.

"Yes, but we need that dick alive in case…"

Scudder reappears through the mirror less than a minute after he left.

"See, reach through, grab the book, done." He tosses the book at Roy. "Was that so hard?" Scudder ignores Roy glare.

"Was there anyone there?"

"Does it matter? The book is the only thing…"

"You didn't check?"

"I told you, there's nothing else in the safe house worth…"

Lisa puts up a hand.

"Listen to me very carefully Scudder, because I am not going to repeat myself. Working together is not just going to be us following you around. Listening to your every command. This is a team. Do you understand? If there was someone at the house, then they could have put some kind of tracker on you…"

"I would have seen…"

"Or, there is a superhero who can shrink down to the size of a bug and could be sitting in your pocket right now. Or Cisco could figure out where we are by vibing anything you touched at your last known location. So when I tell you to wait. When I tell you that we need to check the area out before barging in, you are going to follow that command. I will not have my family get captured because you want to wave your powers around like a big man. Do you understand?"

Scudder looked annoyed at Lisa talking down to him, but Roy couldn't help but notice the way he stuck his hands into his pocket when she mentioned a mini-sized hero.

"Of course. We're all in this together." Lisa smiled at Scudder's insincere words.

"And don't you forget it sweetheart. Now. Roy, you, Scudder, and I are going to go back to that little portal and see if we see any signs of our mystery woman. Shawna let the others know what is going on, get everyone close to a mirror in case we all have to bail."

"You got it boss."

There's no one in the house by the time Scudder accesses all the windows upstairs. He checks every window from the safe house and the surrounding houses to look up and down the street.

"See. It was probably just a squatter or…"

Lisa is looking at every possible angle. She has Scudder show her every possible place he can get a reflection off of. Eventually she gives the signal and they step out into the living room.

They walk throughout the house, but there isn't much to see. Most of the stuff inside belonged to the previous owners. The only reason Scudder's little black book had been there is because he had tossed it through a mirror after they escaped prison. Trying to keep his information in different locations in case he got arrested again and his powers removed. No use hiding things in the Mirror Verse if he could never access the place again.

"Someone was here." Lisa points to the area by the door, footprints are visible. "You said it was a woman?"

"I just saw the shoes. Voice was distorted but sounded female."

"Probably someone looking for me and Rosa."

"Hm." Lisa didn't look convinced. But there was nothing else to show that anyone had been here. "We will have Axel scan the house, make sure there are no cameras or any surprises hidden. See if he can access the closest traffic cams."

"I told you it was nothing."

Lisa smiled sweetly at Scudder but even Roy could tell she was getting tired of his attitude.

"You did. Now, let's head back before anyone else shows up for apparently no reason, not more than two weeks after you threw an object through a mirror downstairs. Less than a month after you escaped from prison and at a safe house that no one in the world is supposed to know exists. I'm sure it's all just a coincidence."

Scudder rolled his eyes then stepped through the mirror.

Lisa put a hand on Roy's chest.

"I want everyone keeping an extra eye on him."

"You think he's up to something?"

"I don't know. There's something not right about this. About him."

"None of us trust him."

"Good. Let's keep it that way."

Roy spared one last glance around the house behind them. Not sure of what today's events had meant. Was it just a coincidence like Scudder was insisting? That seemed unlikely all things considered. But whoever it was, wasn't military or a cop. Or they would have checked the basement thoroughly. Taken the black book of Scudder's as evidence.

The safe house was too well hidden for just some random citizen to have stumbled upon this place.

Just what they needed right now, someone else trying to hunt them down.

* * *

She'd always wanted to visit the Italian countryside. Get a nice little villa somewhere on the coast. Spend her days drinking a ridiculous amount of wine. That was the dream wasn't it? Retire to some villa, not have to worry about anything except your tan. Reading every trashy romance novel she could find.

Shawna wondered if retired people got bored.

Of course they did. I mean a lot of old thieves get back in the game eventually. No one who gets out, can ever really stay out. You miss the rush, the feeling of getting away with it.

After all their recent escapes and running and near misses, she was fairly certain she could go forty years without needing that rush again.

There's the rush of a job.

Then there's the panic of almost getting kidnapped or killed.

Completely different things.

Shawna's walking through the town, looking at all the fresh bread and fruit for sale. She throws a couple items in a bag and pays the merchant. They're still using a microwave as their main means of cooking, but at least they can get some healthy food in them. Even if she does have to basically force vegetables down Walker's throat.

A guy walks past her on the sidewalk and she sees him follow her with his eyes for a minute. Takes her a second to realize the dude is just checking her out. Not confirming she's an escaped criminal and is calling the cops.

Her takes a hand out of her pocket. Away from the small pocket mirror stuffed in her jacket. Tap a pattern and Scudder can turn it into a portal instantly. Not that she needs it of course. But it is good to have another avenue in case she can't use her powers. Scudder's powers aren't hindered by the dark like hers are. Never hurts to have another way out.

There hadn't been any sign of Roy's mystery woman in the last two days. Whoever it was might have just been grasping at straws. Going anywhere they could find that was even a little bit linked to the Rogues. Or maybe it had been some cops looking for Scudder and Dillon. They did escape from Iron Heights, bound to be people looking for them.

Though they didn't have huge bounties on their heads like the Rogues did.

Scudder was going to reach out to one of his contacts in the next couple days. See if the guy would be willing to meet. Willing to talk.

Shawna wasn't sure she liked depending on either of the newcomers for anything. Scudder might sell the Rogues out the second he got the chance. Just push the Rogues out a mirror and into the waiting arms of the cops.

Snart and Mark would be watching from a mirror at the meet. She should be there. She hasn't tried using her powers from inside the Mirror Verse to the real world yet. But it something they should be practicing. Shawna was getting a little frustrated, just sitting around.

Snart had brought it up at their last little meeting. Letting the Rogues try and use their powers inside the Mirror Verse. He used the excuse of giving Mardon a chance to let loose, but she wondered if Snart wasn't going to try and use his little. Somewhere there was no chance he could hurt anybody. Maybe see if he could actually contain it this time.

Scudder had been pretty resistant. Was sure they would somehow break the place. Guy needed to loosen up a little. Plus they needed to know if their powers were back up. Needed to know if they were all in fighting condition. Roy had been quiet about his powers recently, she hadn't wanted to push him on it. But man, she was itching to use hers again. Itching to see what she could do using the Mirror Verse.

The non-metas were working on rebuilding their arsenals. Was easy now that they could steal one small piece from anywhere in the world, then another piece somewhere else. No way to show that it was the Rogues doing it. They made sure to steal from the kind of people who wouldn't report such things to the police too.

Lisa had rebuilt her gun in the Mirror Verse. Figured out how to make it so Team Flash or whoever can't track it. Added a little spring to Lisa's step to have the gold gun on her hip again.

Axel had a dozen of his projects strewn about the Mirror Verse and the motel. Digger's boomerangs were mixed in among the pieces. She didn't want to think about the kind of things those two children would come up with.

Shawna was about to head up the road towards the motel when she sees Dillon up ahead. Looking through the window of one of the little shops in town. Shawna debates with herself for a second. Seems like the Rogues have been doing good with avoiding their two new tagalongs unless absolutely necessary. Though Mick seemed to think that Dillon was alright.

There was something in the way Dillon looked at Scudder. Made something in Shawna's stomach twist.

Something that seeing Clay in that mirror couple days ago had brought back up again.

She takes a breath and puts on a smile. Maybe it's a little fake, but it wasn't too long ago this bitch tried to turn them over to the cops.

Shawna hadn't gone this far down this road more than once. Wasn't any good shops down here. Just an old toy store. Which is what Dillon is looking into the window of.

Shawna slides up beside her.

"Is that a freaking Game Boy? I am so tempted to buy that for Axel. Just to try and explain the game cartridges to him would be worth it. Plus, the black and white graphics? His little Millennial head might explode. "

Dillon smiles slightly but keeps a wary eye on Shawna. Clear her smile is just as fake as Shawna's.

"I don't think I had one of those growing up."

"Nah, we didn't either. But this boy down the street got one and it sort of became the community Game Boy. I helped him with his homework and he let me play it for like an hour at a time. I had the high score on Dr. Mario, but I don't like to brag."

"Hm. I was never into those sorts of things."

"Yea, you seem like the Barbie Dream House type. No offense."

Dillon looked at Shawna for a moment, as though trying to decide if she should continue this conversation.

"None taken. I did have one of those. Even had one with a little hot tub. Had a button on the side, you pressed it and it made bubbles. But I don't like to brag."

Shawna laughed. Ok, maybe Mick was right. Maybe Dillon wasn't so bad. Too bad Scudder was such a dick.

"Damn. Must have had all the elementary school bitches clamoring to hang out at your place."

Dillon didn't say anything for a minute, just turned back to the window.

"Not really. I wasn't the most sociable of kids growing up. I used to sit in my family's attic and play with all the old toys I found there. My grandfather had been a bit of a hoarder, kept all kinds of things. He had these old handheld electronic football games. Always went on about how they would be worth something some day. Not that he would ever sell them of course. My favorites were in this old crate. Small wooden horse you pulled with a string. A box of jacks, and pick up sticks. My favorite had always been this small collection of tops."

Shawna can see them through the window. Five or six of them, all of varying sizes. Painted in a wide variety of colors. One has a string attached to it.

"You ever play with tops?"

"I had a friend in elementary school who brought in a dreidel once. Don't guess that's quite the same."

"I know it was weird. Everyone else was talking about board games and then video games and here I was, playing with this chunk of wood by myself. I loved watching them spin. I found it…calming."

"You're nickname's the Top isn't it?"

"Full disclosure. I love that nickname. If I ever meet the man who gave it to me, I will be inclined to kiss him on the mouth."

Shawna laughs.

"His name's probably Cisco."

"I will keep that in mind."

Dillon looks at the window again.

"You going to buy one or what?"

"I'll tell Sam about them. He knows about my little obsession with the toys. He can buy them for me."

That small twisting in her gut was back. Now she could place it. She used to do that with Clay. Used to assume he would pay for it, that he would take care of something. Even if she could have done it herself.

Dillon didn't seem like she was into all of this. All this espionage and hiding out stuff. She was just following Scudder blindly.

"We could grab them now. I bet Axel could help you figure out how to turn them into weapons. He would take it as a personal challenge."

Dillon's eyes flicker with excitement for a moment.

"You know some tops, when you spin them correctly, will pop open and reveal something inside. A knockout gas or…" Her excitement diminishes slightly for a moment. "But it's too ridiculous."

"Dude, Axel once literally made a bomb out of a teddy bear. And have you met Digger? Boomerangs. The man loves boomerangs. There is nothing too ridiculous for the Rogues."

"Well, since you've twisted my arm about it…"

Shawna smiles and the two of them walk into the shop. Dillon buys the five tops in the window and three that the owner had behind the counter. Shawna buys the Game Boy. If Axel gets bored with it after five seconds she's going to try and beat her old Dr. Mario score.

They're walking back to the motel in comfortable silence. It takes Shawna a moment to realize what they just did.

They walked into a shop and they bought something. No one cared who they were, didn't even question why two women were buying children's toys. That was a perfectly normal thing for women their age to do wasn't it?

She couldn't remember the last time she just…went into a store and bought something so unnecessary.

They had been running for so long, buying only the necessities. Stealing everything they could to survive. Worrying if every store they walked into would be the one that gave them away.

It was like they could finally breathe again. Maybe Digger had the right idea. They could just stay here. Stay away from all the insanity and just…be ordinary for a little while.

She shook that idea off. She must be getting some kind of cabin fever or something. No idea that Digger Harkness came up with, could ever be considered correct. She must just be tired or...

"You said that Sam got the book from the house in Opal right?"

"Yea, though someone found the place. Thinks they were looking for you two."

"Sam said that didn't matter. All that mattered is we can contact some people who can give us information."

"What about you? You like this plan?"

"Sam said…"

"I don't give a shit about what that asshole said. I'm asking you."

Rosa glared at Shawna for a moment, then turned and continued walking up the road.

"Shit." Shawna took a breath. That…that wasn't what she meant to do. It's just… "Rosa, wait up a sec."

Rosa continued walking. Thankfully, Shawna had longer legs and was able to catch up after a few seconds.

"I'm sorry about that. I got…I got some old issues and sometimes they bubble up at the wrong times."

Rosa slowed her step slightly but didn't turn towards Shawna.

"I understand that you don't trust either of us. But…"

"I know. Alright. I'm sorry. We good?"

"Let's just get back to the motel."

Shawna knew she should keep her mouth shut. Just walk back, maybe crack a joke or two. Forget all about her little outburst. Seems like her and Rosa could get along, no reason to ruin it with her baggage.

"You don't have to follow him you know. You're smart, seems like you can handle yourself in a fight. I appreciate anyone who can put Digger flat on his ass."

"I love him."

Shawna wanted to scream. How many times had she said that to herself? How many times had she ignored everything anyone said about Clay? She loved him, who cares if his plans are shit? Who cares if he was pulling her farther and farther down into the mud?

"Look, I get it, I really do. And when I was where you are, I probably wouldn't have listened to anyone else either, but I mean you need to not have to rely on him for everything. If you don't want to be a part of this, you shouldn't be forced…"

"The way you were forced into joining the Rogues?"

"What? I wasn't…I don't know what you've heard but I wasn't forced to join the Rogues."

"Oh I see, so you wanted to be an international terrorist and murderer?"

"Luthor…"

"Luthor may have set you up in Evergreen Acres, but the Rogues are the ones who put you there in the first place. I mean what was Snart even thinking? Why did you guys jump up from bank robberies to stopping people like James Jesse? That's the kind of thing that got you into this mess."

"That was different man. You don't know what you're talking about."

"And you don't know what you're talking about with Sam. Think what you like but he would never put me in the kind of danger that the Snart siblings have put you in."

"They aren't the ones putting me in danger."

"Really? You trust them? All of them?"

"Of course, Rogues have always had my back."

"Always?"

Shawna thought of the beginning, when they didn't trust each other. When she ran off on them.

"I mean, Digger's a piece of shit sure. And I'm never sure where I stand with Mick or…"

"You aren't worried they will leave you behind? Seems to me they have regulated you to doing nothing now that Sam can do what you did. And he is less likely to be detected."

The Rogues…wouldn't. She shook her head. That was crazy. They wouldn't abandon her. They…they still needed her.

"We're a team."

"Of course. You love…them."

Dillon walked away.

Shawna felt like she couldn't breathe for a second. They wouldn't abandon her…but then she had never thought Clay would. She had followed him everywhere. Followed him blindly and look what it had gotten her.

No. No this was nothing like that. The Rogues…they were family. They wouldn't abandon her. It wasn't the same as what Clay had done.

But…

Look what following the Rogues had gotten her. Labeled a terrorist. Tortured by some asshole. Locked in a dark room. Chased across the world with everyone trying to kill her.

Shawna took a deep breath. She wasn't falling for the same trick. Because it wasn't the same. The Rogues have stuck together through way worse shit than she ever got in with Clay.

The Rogues wouldn't abandon her.

She…she didn't believe it for a second.


	5. Chapter 5

Scudder's first contact had been a bust. Mainly because the man was dead. Looking into a bathroom mirror and seeing a man who had clearly been murdered at least a week ago, laying on the ground in his stained underwear, was not an image Roy was able to get out of his head quickly.

Scudder's second contact had also been useless. Tried to call the cops on Scudder the second the man turned his back. Didn't know Snart was watching through the nearby window. Grabbed the man right into the Mirror Verse. The man had been understandably panicked.

Even more so when Mick grabbed him and drug him off towards his coal mine fire mirror.

The third contact was a little better. But didn't have the information they needed. Just gave Scudder and Dillon some fake IDs. Told them they needed to get away as soon as possible. Find a nice little island somewhere and never leave it.

The fourth contact is a little more…reclusive. Scudder just had the person listed as 'Carver' in his book. Some kind of hacker, supposed to know everything. Or knows how to get anything. Scudder says he's never even met the man in person. Just texted information back and forth. But Carver says he's willing to meet. The problem is, he doesn't specify when. Or what he looks like.

Just a place. A shady bar, in an up and coming part of Central City. One of those communities that hasn't quite figured out that the old dirty days of run down bars and puking on the street are behind them. The whole area will be gentrified within five years, if that. Just down the block from the bar was a gluten free bakery.

The death knell of any haven for lowlifes if ever there was one.

Carver said that Scudder had to be there in person for the man to make contact. Or one of his associates. Any of the Rogues would do.

Snart hadn't liked the fact that this person seemed so sure they were all working together. But they didn't have any other options. It was this, or keep moving through Scudder's increasingly shrinking list of underworld contacts.

So they started a rotation at the bar. Waiting in a corner for hours on end. Waiting for someone who might or might not show up. They couldn't go in pairs, they'd be too recognizable. So they sat alone, drinking and keeping their heads down. Not making eye contact if they could avoid it. Everyone trying to be inconspicuous, trying not to be the one that got noticed. The one that caused the whole meeting to go up in flames.

Plus, no one wanted to be the loser in Digger's betting pool.

The odds were currently that Axel would blow the whole thing. Two to one that the kid wouldn't be able to stay silent for that long. Just shout out who he was one day to see what would happen. Or throw some confetti in the air and see if anyone noticed. Axel had been offended by the implication that he would do something as simple as throw confetti.

Roy found himself the second most likely.

"Why would I be the one to get caught and not Mick or Snart? They're more recognizable than me."

"Something about you mate. Trouble just sniffs you out."

Roy hated that he couldn't argue with Digger's logic. And that he ended up putting twenty dollars down on himself.

No reason he couldn't make a little money on his misfortune.

Not that they weren't prepared for it. For being found out. For it all to go to hell.

Everyone was carrying a small mirror in their pockets. Portals that Scudder kept permanently open. All Roy had to do was shove his hand in his pocket and he would be pulled into the Mirror Verse.

Not to mention that every 15 minutes he had to text Snart. Confirming that he was still alive. That the contact still hadn't reached out to him. That he was currently bored out of his mind.

Roy doesn't think much on the fact that they were back in Central. That of all the places in the world they could have met, the contact wants to meet here. Where the Rogues are most likely to be recognized. Where every person, especially in this area of the city, would be tripping over themselves for the reward money.

"How the hell do you know we can even trust this person? Maybe it's all a set up." Mardon hadn't liked Scudder's plan. And, as typical of the man, he was unable to hide his contempt for another meta claiming to be stronger than he was.

"Like I explained already, Carver is the best at what he does. And, is the only person who, so far, has been willing to give us any information. So he's reclusive. So are all of you at this point. Everyone is being extra careful these days. If there is a reason Carver is making us wait, it is a damn good one."

Hard to argue that point. Roy can't imagine anyone who is a metahuman or is associated with metahumans is having a good time out there.

Roy sips on his beer and vaguely watches the TV. Sports of some kind. Baseball…yes, baseball. He couldn't tell the names of the teams or who was winning, not that he cared to really try to find out.

Roy notices the bartender sort of glance at him. He'd done it a few times today, nothing to be too paranoid about. Roy keeps an eye on the man just in case.

The man turns back to the liquor on the wall behind the bar. Roy watches the bartender as discreetly as he can. He pretends to be interested in the baseball game. Though he is certain anyone watching can tell he couldn't give less of a shit about the sport. This may be his most unconvincing cover ever, even more than when he pretended to be a cop.

Roy sees it out of the corner of his eye, the moment the man behind the bar starts to look a little more closely at him. Roy doesn't move for his shades, doesn't change position, but he can feel his whole body tense up.

Cold had told them they had to prepare for the inevitability. To not do anything rash, stay calm. Stick to the plan. No matter what, stick to the plan.

They weren't going to be lucky forever. Not with the bounty still on their heads.

Roy sighs. He'd been here off and on for over a week. For some reason, today the bartender decides he wants to take a closer look. Roy stands up from his table slowly. He makes a move like he is pulling out his cellphone. His fingers hover over the mirror in his pocket.

"Seriously, John? This is why Marti left you, you know. You spend all your time in a bar." A woman slides up next to him, Roy tries to hide any hint of disbelief when she loops a hand around his arm. She points to the bartender. "Don't you dare serve him another drink. He is going to sober up and then he is going to go home and apologize to my sister."

Roy has no idea who this person is. She looks vaguely familiar. He keeps his fingers by the mirror. What if this is the contact? He…he swears he knows this person somehow.

"I am?"

"Yes." She reaches into her purse and throws some money on the bar. "Keep the change."

Roy wants to ask her how she knows how much he had spent on booze but the woman is already pulling him towards the door. Berating him as she goes. The bartender no longer seems to care about who Roy may or may not have been. He's counting the bills and wiping off the counter.

Once they step outside, Roy pulls his arm out of the woman's grasp. He quickly removes his shades. The woman makes a half hearted attempt to put her hands up. It feels like she is doing it for his benefit more than out of any actual fear.

"Easy there. I just helped you."

"An incredibly suspicious thing to do if you know who I am."

"You're Roy G. Bivolo aka the Rainbow Raider. Or Prism, if Cisco is feeling particularly contrary."

Roy's trying to figure it out. How he knows this person. But he's never been very good with remembering people. Or their faces. Or their names. The woman puts her hands down when someone else starts to walk around the corner. She takes a small step forward and keeps her voice low.

"Look. I just want to talk. But maybe we should do it somewhere a little more private."

Roy raises an eyebrow.

"Why would I go anywhere with you?"

"Because I know Lex Luthor set you guys up in Metropolis. And I can prove it. Unless of course, you want to wait around and see how long it takes the CCPD to notice the Rogues have been hanging out in the same bar all week. Only took me three days."

He's certain this isn't Scudder's contact now.

This could very well be a trap. This girl could be an ARGUS agent. Maybe that was how he knew her. Or she could be working for Luthor. Or the cops. Or the feds. Or maybe he saw her in a crowd of civilians who tried to murder him recently.

He's supposed to be at the bar for another hour. Snart is going to have his head.

Plus, he can't help but feel a little annoyed that Digger was right about him being the one to get found out first.

He pulls his cellphone and takes a picture of her. He texts it to Axel.

"What are you doing?"

"Figuring out who you are."

His cellphone chirps almost instantly. He hasn't even managed to type out what he wants Axel to find out about the woman before the kid has responded.

_Dude. Nice._

Roy rolls his eyes. Both at the words and the excessive amount of emojis that Axel had included in his text. He never understood the 100 emoji, but he's fairly certain it's not supposed to be paired with the octopus one. What would that even mean? Roy suppresses his annoyance at today's youth and finishes his text.

_She approached me in the bar._

_I bet she did you sly minx_

_She knows who I am, who is she?_

The woman is looking slightly amused by all this. He assumes it has something to do with how long it takes him to text versus how long it takes Axel to respond.

"You sent that to Axel Walker right? He's still doing all your tech work, since Hartley left?"

His phone chirps again.

_Iris west reporter for the picture news in CC_

There's a link to her professional profile, then Axel sends him a copy of her resume. And then her college transcripts. And her yearbook photo. And…those can't possibly be her actual dental records.

Roy sends one more text.

_Let Snart know_

_Will do buckaroo_

Roy's about to turn back to the woman, about to ask her how she found him, ask her what the hell she was doing talking to him, what the hell she wanted, but his mind seemed to only be focused on one thing.

Hartley.

She called him Hartley.

Not Rathaway. Not Pied Piper. She said Axel Walker. But then only said Hartley.

"You know Hartley."

It was half statement, half question. And clearly wasn't the most pressing thing at the moment. There were a million other things he should want to know. But he found himself wanting to ask how the kid was doing. If he was pushing everyone away with his sarcasm. If he was letting people help him. If the cops were giving him too much grief, was anyone at his back?

Something seemed to settle in the girl's eyes and whatever hesitance she might have had about him disappears completely.

She takes a step forward.

"I do. He had some interesting things to say about the Rogues. And you in particular."

"I can't imagine any of them were good."

"No. But then, I've never heard him say anything good about anybody. I did once hear him say that some of Ray Palmer's designs were adequate, in a retro and completely useless kind of way. Which I took to mean a declaration of love."

"You really do know Hartley."

She smiles slightly at him.

"I'm Iris. We've met briefly when you held a gun to my head a few years ago."

Roy knew he recognized her somehow. Although he still had no idea when he did such a thing. But if she said so then it must have been true.

"So you decided to approach a man who held a gun to your head, and whom you have heard nothing but negative things about from an ally, all because…"

"Because I want the truth. Because I know that Luthor is up to something. There is a story there. A story that everyone else seems set on ignoring. And I want to know the Rogues' side of it."

She seemed oddly earnest about it. Roy didn't know what to do with that information.

"Why?"

"Because it's the right thing…"

"I find that the right thing, is rarely the right thing to do."

Snart's slow drawl caused them both to turn. The man appeared in the alley behind them. Roy saw the faint shimmer in the glass window of the bar.

Iris didn't appear to be phased by Snart appearing out of thin air. Or by the man himself. She simply narrowed her eyes and kept her voice calm and even.

"Maybe not during a bank robbery. But when you're being blamed for a terrorist attack and the entire country is taking their anger out on other metahumans, then it has to be. People, innocent people, are suffering because of the fear that Luthor is spreading."

"And what would you have us do Ms. West? Pour our hearts out to your little newspaper? Go on an interview with Barbara Walters where we can cry and confess our sins?"

"People have a right to know…"

"People don't want to know. What they want is to go home, binge watch Netflix, eat their take out and pretend that the world is exactly the way they think it is. You go in there and try to make them see something else and their little brains might explode."

"You don't have much faith in people."

"I don't have faith in the unwashed masses, no. All Luthor has to do is wave his hand and you and all your little self righteous rhetoric will disappear. Not even…the Flash could save you."

Snart put a little more emphasis on the Flash's name than normal. Iris refused to break eye contact with Snart. In fact, his words only seemed to harden her resolve.

"It doesn't matter if he silences me. The truth always comes out, nothing stops it. Not even death."

"I'd rather be alive. I've found death to be a bit of a drag."

"I know you care about your family. And I know all of this, is a show." She hands Roy a piece of paper. "It's my number. I have information about Luthor. Information that can help prove that you weren't responsible. That he is a monster, not you. And once your boss gets his head out of his ass, give me a call."

She turns and walks away.

Snart watches her go. An odd look passes over his face.

"We need to move."

"Why?"

"Let's just say Ms. West is on a first name basis with the Flash."

"If she knows him, why is she coming to us with this? Why go to the trouble of hunting us down if the Flash could just run in and grab us?"

"Methinks the lady is going on her own. The Flash might not have any idea what she's up to. Especially if he doesn't believe her."

"You really think she thinks we're innocent."

"I think she knows there is more going on. The Flash would have told her about the kidnappings, the clones, Cadmus…"

Snart trails off. The reporter has disappeared from sight, but Snart continues to look in that direction. Roy nods back towards the bar.

"You want me to go back inside, see if Scudder's man shows?"

"Not worth the risk. If Ms. West found us, it's only a matter of time before someone else does. We'll head back, see if we can't figure out what Ms. West knows without having to resort to giving her a call."

They have to call her.

Less than a week after she accosted Roy in the bar. Although it had more to do with Scudder's contacts than it did Iris' earnestness.

Carver never contacted them again. And the next four contacts had turned up dead.

All recently.

"Someone is wiping out your people Scudder."

"That's impossible. Why would anyone target these people? They're nobodies."

Snart had glared at Scudder's tone. At his dismissive regard for what was clearly a pattern in Snart's mind.

"Someone must have realized we were working together. And are now trying to cut off any source, any avenue, we could pursue to find more information about Luthor's operation."

Lisa had sighed. Interrupting Scudder before he could put in more of a fight about his list of contacts.

"Seems like we still have one person they wouldn't expect us to be working with." Snart had looked annoyed, but ultimately he realized Lisa was right. They didn't have anyone else they could ask for information.

"Alright. Lisa, call Ms. West. Set up a met somewhere outside of Central. Somewhere we know.

"I know just the place. Little diner in Opal. Off the beaten path, but shouldn't be too much of a problem for our intrepid little reporter to find."

"Scudder, you will be transport only. Stay in the Mirror Verse. Don't be seen. Lisa, you'll take Roy and Mardon with you."

"You sure that's a good idea brother dear? Ms. West is…"

"I'm aware of who her father is. We need her off center. Seeing Mardon will shake her confidence, hopefully give us the upper hand."

"Mardon knows who she is."

"Which is why you are taking Roy. The rewards outweigh the risks."

Lisa didn't seem like she agreed with her brother's assessment. But she wasn't going to undermine him in front of Scudder.

"What about me boss man? You want me to come with?"

"You'll stay here Shawna. Scudder can handle it."

Shawna hadn't been too happy with that. Complained to Roy about it later while he was painting in his room.

"It's like he doesn't think I can do this any more. I'm way more capable than Scudder. Keeping me on the sidelines, this is bullshit."

"Consider yourself lucky. You don't have to go on this incredibly ill advised meeting with Mark."

Shawna continued as though Roy hadn't spoken.

"Hell, they're sending you and you don't even know if your powers work any more, you're more useless than I am at this point."

Roy ignored Shawna's remark. She had, in the past, made such comments in anger or frustration. Though she generally apologized for them later. Usually by way of stealing him more paints or warming up the tea that he had forgotten he made before he got lost in a painting.

It's a few days before he realizes she never did apologize. He writes it off as the stress. Shawna had always been more active than him. She wanted to be part of the action. Whereas he was usually content to be left out of it.

He had gone into town on his own, not long after her comments. He did need to practice. He picked a spot in the market where he would be ignored. Not particularly easy as most of the vendors were constantly telling Roy that he needed to buy this item or that one.

Still. He picked a couple that were shouting at each other, arguing about how much bread they need for some party or something. He really couldn't tell. He waited until he was certain no one was looking at him.

Then he activated his calming powers.

Both of them calmed down instantly.

Roy breathed a sigh of relief. His powers had actually worked. It must have just been overuse. That was all it was.

The stress of running, of using his powers, the injuries. All of it must have just caused him to…

The couple start yelling at each other again.

Damn.

Well, at least it worked for a moment. He hadn't felt that oddness in his eyes this time. This was more like when he stretched his powers on too long. He had reached his breaking point, that was all it was. He used to be able to keep people under his power for hours.

Still, a whole minute was longer than he had been capable of last week. He was slowly getting them back. He just needed to rest them a bit longer. They would be back fully before too long, he was sure of it.

Hopefully, he won't have to use his powers during their meeting.

Hopefully, Mardon would actually keep a level head in the presence of the daughter of the man who killed his brother.

Roy rubs his eyes slowly.

This was going to be a disaster.

But it was the only plan they had at the moment.

So they went to the meeting. Wearing as much of a disguise as each of them could. Luthor's facial recognition software was able to see through most changes in hair styles or facial hair. So the best thing to do was to try and keep the face covered. Hoodies, jackets with high collars, scarves. The kind of thing people wore in winter.

That it was the middle of June and currently 75 degrees outside was limiting their ability to be inconspicuous.

Still, Axel figured out the best way to keep their faces hidden from nearby cameras. Standard ball caps pulled down low were really the only accessories they could add that wouldn't stand out.

They make it to the diner without any incident. They find a small table in the back. Roy tilts his chair so that he can watch the door leading to the kitchen. Mardon keeps an eye on the door. While Lisa sits nonchalantly and chats with the waitress like they are old friends. The woman takes their orders for coffee and walks away.

They don't have to wait long for Ms. West to make her entrance.

It gets to her.

Just for a moment. Barely more than most people would be able to recognize. He sees the way Ms. West's eyes widen at Mardon sitting at the table. The way her steps falter for just a moment. By the time she reaches the table she's regained her composure but she's glaring at them. As though she knows exactly why Mardon is here.

Lisa just smiles as Iris sits down across from them.

"Is there a problem Ms. West? You did want to meet with us didn't you?"

Ms. West shakes it off, steels herself. Mardon, for his part, is acting rather bored with the whole thing.

Which is the opposite of what the man is feeling. Roy can see the twitch in his fingers. The static in the air causing the hair on Roy's neck to stand on end.

"You won't make a move against her. Unless I give you the signal, and even then…"

"Just scare her. Yea, I heard you the first dozen or so times."

Mardon had blown off Lisa's concern, steadfastly ignoring her in favor of the pizza in front of him. It was cold and a couple days old, Roy doubted it tasted very good. But Mark was treating it like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. Lisa had given Roy a look and then left the room.

Roy casually poked the pizza when Mark wouldn't look up.

A bit of cheese stuck to his finger and Roy was overcome with the desire to wash his hands profusely. He had been in sewers with less disgusting combinations. But that was what they got for letting Axel order the pizza.

What kind of a monster puts anchovies and Swedish Fish on a pizza?

"Don't use that calm bullshit."

Roy had turned at Mark's voice. The man was still looking at the pizza, though he had begun to push it around with his hands with more force than was necessary.

"Didn't like it when you used it on me with the Reverse Flash and his goons."

"What would you suggest then?"

"Don't know."

Fear and anger would only make matters worse, and would most likely lead to the same outcome. Not to mention his powers were currently at their weakest. He would only be able to stop Mardon for a minute at most. Not nearly enough time to keep him from killing a shit ton of people.

"I'll think of something."

Mark nodded. Not exactly a great vote of confidence going into a meeting with someone who says they can clear your name, but it was the best Roy would get. He assured Lisa it was taken care of. She hadn't believed him of course. But there was only so much they could do. The risks of bringing him didn't outweigh the advantage it gave them. Or the information her reaction to him would bring.

So there they all were, in a semi-public place, pretending like they weren't seconds away from disaster.

"Of course not. I was expecting your brother is all."

"Brother dear doesn't like to reveal himself if the information isn't worth his time."

"So you're just your brother's lackey? Way I hear it, you're running the Rogues now."

Lisa's face didn't change, still had the same sweet smile. But Roy could feel the change in her demeanor.

"Interesting how you have all this personal information about us. Roy tells me you've been in contact with Piper. I'm sure he's given you all the gossip, all our dirty little secrets. But if all you have is the word of a disgruntled former associate…"

Iris smiled.

Roy got the feeling Ms. West was enjoying this little tête–à–tête as much as Lisa was. He suddenly doubted Mardon's presence was going to do anything to influence Ms. West's confidence.

"What I have is concrete evidence linking Luthor to Cadmus, and to the experiments performed on your brother."

"You said that last time, and yet, I don't notice any suspicious looking files in that designer jacket of yours."

"Maybe because this isn't a 1970s spy movie." Ms. West pulled a thumb drive out of her pocket. "This has what you need to show a concrete link between Luthor and what happened in Metropolis. The man's downfall is going to be his pride. His supreme confidence in his own intelligence and planning. If he had just planted a random meta in the subdivision and set them off, it would have done everything he wanted. But he saw this as a way to get rid of you, and to use your 'celebrity' to his advantage. I was able to find out information in regards to what caused your brother to…explode."

"Really."

"A subsidiary of a subsidiary of a subsidiary of LexCorp created the chip that was implanted in your brother. They were commissioned by ARGUS, but ARGUS tested them and they didn't work. They were supposed to be in the same vein as the chips that were used for Task Force X…

"How does a little local reporter like you, know about something top secret like that?"

"I assume the same way you do. I've got insider information. And no, I won't reveal my source."

Lisa just smiled at Iris' tone. She waved a nonchalant hand.

"Continue…"

"These chips were designed specifically for metahuman prisoners, to be used on the Suicide Squad. Give them the ability to use their powers for the mission, but shut them down if the meta tried to betray them. They were supposed to be able to emit a signal that would automatically neutralize the meta's powers, but they didn't work right. Every person they tested them on, caused their powers to go haywire. ARGUS scrapped the project, but the creator kept the first chip he created, and the designs for creating them. Luthor bought that company and then took the chip from where it was being stored. I have proof that he went into the company warehouse and signed out a bunch of the prototypes they developed for ARGUS. The chip was labeled as being destroyed in his records. The only physical proof of the existence of these chips, that Luthor used it, is in your brother's neck. The designs are on the drive, as well as information about the best place to implant them. You should be able to…"

"You're being awfully forthcoming with all of this information."

"That's because I've only put half of the data you need to remove the implant from your brother's neck in there."

"And the other half?"

"You can have it after you've helped me."

"That's not very charitable of you."

"Just trying to keep everyone honest here."

Lisa smirked.

"Well, we will have to review this of course. See if there's any substance to all your…"

"We've been spotted."

Roy turns sharply towards Mark's voice. The static in the air began to crackle, the hairs on the back of Roy's neck were standing on edge. Mardon knocks over his chair as he pushes away from the table.

"She betrayed us." Roy stands quickly and puts a hand on Mark's chest. He pulls off his shades, Roy stares at Mardon for a moment. The man doesn't make any moves towards Iris. But he doesn't really have to move to hit someone with a bolt of lightening. Roy's only going to have a split second to stop him if Mardon decides to kill her.

Probably should have come up with a better plan for this.

Lisa doesn't stand, just glances at Mark out of the corner of her eye.

"Easy Mark. Iris here wouldn't do something that insanely stupid. Would she now?"

Roy hears the telltale sound of Lisa's gun powering up. Lisa was giving Iris a much harder smile now. Iris, to her credit, wasn't backing down. She puts her hands on the table.

"Of course not. I get caught with this I'm just as dead as the rest of you."

Lisa keeps the gun on Iris a few more seconds. She holsters it and turns towards Mardon.

"Mark, cover. Now."

Mardon was still glaring at Iris. For a moment, Roy thought he might just ignore Lisa's order and hit Iris with a gust of wind. Knocking her through the window and killing the stalwart reporter.

Mardon moved his left hand slightly.

The street outside was suddenly covered in fog. Roy could hear the sound of sirens now. He had an uncomfortable flashback to Evergreen Acres. The world burning around them, the thick fog, the sirens closing in.

Lisa touched the framed picture behind her. The reflection of the glass enough that Scudder should be able to grab them all through.

The glass doesn't change. Doesn't shimmer or move.

The fog outside begins to dissipate. Mark looks down at his hands, the electricity from before now gone. Roy touches the mirror in his pocket.

Nothing.

"Must have a portable anti-meta generator."

"Good thing we always have a back up plan. You should probably come with us Ms. West."

Iris doesn't argue, she follows the Rogues as they head out the kitchen and towards the back door. None of the staff move to stop them. Most of them are used to Family members having to use the back exit. Lisa had picked this diner because of the discretion of its staff in regard to illegal meetings.

The anti-meta generators only create a field that covers a few blocks. Axel had set up an EMP and should be moving to set it off. All they had to do was…

"Get back!"

Lisa pushes them backwards towards the kitchen, as gunfire erupts in the alleyway just outside.

"Shit."

"Told you we should have brought more firepower."

"Shut up Mardon." Lisa pulls her gun and aims it towards the kitchen door they just came through. Making sure no one sneaks up and shoots them in the back.

Roy and Mark both pull guns and start shooting back towards the source of the gunfire. Roy knows his aim isn't the best, but the bullets don't stop raining on the wall around them. Usually the people shooting at them have to duck for cover or at least move to avoid being hit.

Mardon stops shooting out the alley door, and sort of stares for a moment.

"Is that a robot?"

Roy peeks around the corner, during a sudden brief second of quiet. The bullets start up again almost instantly. One bullet embedding itself in the door where Roy's head had been only a moment before.

Roy glances at the bullet hole, then back to Mardon.

"Yep."

There's a robot shooting a machine gun at them. That's new.

"Luthor realized that some of your powers can influence people. So he's been building these androids, he made them heat and cold resistant, put in all kinds of protections in the metal to ward against your powers and weapons. A few less reputable sources say he's even used magic on them. They're supposed to be automated police officers. Just to help protect people, but they round up anyone without…"

"You can tell us all about when we aren't dead." Roy slams the metal door as Lisa and Mark pull a table in front of it. Roy can still hear bullets hitting the door from the alley.

"That's not going to last long."

"Lenny and Scudder were monitoring from the Mirror Verse. They should be bringing in back up once the anti-meta generator went up. We just…"

"Lisa Snart, Mark Mardon, Roy Bivolo. You are surrounded. Exit the building now or we will kill you. This is your only warning."

There were dozens of cops outside. Helicopters and more of the Luthor androids aiming machine guns at the small restaurant. Roy glances over and realizes most of the kitchen staff is still huddling in one corner.

"Looks like they don't care about collateral damage."

"Those androids have injured dozens of innocent civilians in their attempts to capture metahumans."

"So the old, 'we have hostages' line, isn't going to work?"

"They'll just shoot us too."

"Alright. We're going to surrender."

"Like hell."

"Mark, sweetie, listen very carefully. We are just going to buy some time. Axel will have that EMP knocking out the generator in less than two minutes. We just have to play along for that long. Now put your damn hands up. Ms. West you might want to hold back in case they don't know you're with us."

"Got it."

Lisa sticks a hand out towards the window.

"We're coming out."

Roy has a sudden vision. Of the three of them stepping outside and the cops just mowing them down anyway. Their bodies riddled with bullets, bleeding and twitching on the ground.

He keeps his thoughts to himself.

He puts his hands up, tosses his gun to the side, and follows Lisa outside. He hears Mark move slowly behind him. Mark doesn't throw away his gun. Just puts it in the pocket of his jacket.

Roy doesn't say anything, not wanting to put any undue attention on the gun shaped bulge in Mark's jacket.

The three of them step outside. They are greeted by an, unfortunately, familiar scene. One that Roy had gotten more used to over the past few years. All manner of weapons pointed at them. Bystanders vying for a look, even as the cops tried to keep people back. Television helicopters mixed in with the police ones.

It was quite the show.

The androids were odd to see now that he could focus on them without being shot. Clearly not human, they were more like the robots Roy remembered from old sci-fi movies his father used to watch. What was that movie…the Day the Earth Stood Still. It had been his dad's favorite. Roy must have seen the movie a dozen times with his father, though he couldn't remember much about it. Aside from being bored out of his mind and sketching in his notebook. And thinking the robot looked stupid. Even then Roy had known it was just a man in a silver suit.

He supposed these robots were better than that. No face really, but with arms and legs where they should be. He supposed they were more like Terminator robots. A reference he could only make because one of his roommates back in art school had a poster on the wall of one of the things. He'd never actually seen the movies, only knew the Terminators killed everyone they saw.

Can't imagine it's a good connection for his mind to make now.

The robots stood about a foot or two taller than any of the cops. Their chests were painted in blue patterns similar to the officers uniforms, but that did nothing for the fact that they were clearly robots. That they clearly weren't human.

They were weapons. Sophisticated weapons Luthor must have just been dying for an excuse to get a chance to deploy.

One of the officers stepped forward, a megaphone in his hands.

"Lay down on the ground, throw away all weapons. Now!"

Roy could see the way the cops were all nervously holding their guns. Anything would set them off.

Lisa just smiled.

"We're complying boys. We…"

Something crashed through the window behind them. Instinct caused the three of them hit the ground. The android from the alleyway had broken through the back door and was now heading straight for them.

The cops reacted the only way cops ever do.

They started shooting.

The bullets were flying over top of the Rogues. If they tried to run they would be caught in the cross fire. Roy put his hands over his head, not that it would do anything but it felt like an attempt at protection. There was little they could do except lay there and wait for someone to get a lucky shot on them.

Roy was expecting a bullet to hit him any moment. He was not expecting to almost be engulfed in flames.

A burst of red hot fire crossed above Roy's head. Temporarily blinding him, and he was certain, singeing his eyebrows. The flames reached over towards the cops, causing them to turn away from the Rogues on the ground and duck for cover.

Roy turned his head slightly, Mick was standing just to the left of the restaurant. Roy can see out of the corner of his eye the semi-melted robot that had charged out of the restaurant attempting to stand and move towards the new threat.

Mick was laughing.

Which considering it wasn't something Mick had done since Metropolis, Roy was willing to overlook that he was laughing as he was being shot at.

There was fire swirling around the man's arms.

"Fry you pigs!"

Another blast of fire exploded from the pyromaniacs hands. It hit one of the cop cars dead on. The vehicle exploded and launched into the air. Scattering the cops and knocking the robots among them to the ground.

Looks like Axel's flame-thrower gauntlets were a huge hit.

Roy had seen the look in Mick's eyes as Axel had been explaining them to the pyromaniac.

"So like, your hands are totally jacked. But like, that only matters if you have to hold your flamethrower right? And sure, I get it, it's a gun and guns are cool. But like, they're also super boring and like…" Roy had been certain Axel was going to have an aneurysm with all the espresso the boy had been downing lately. High quality, expensive, Italian espresso.

That he liked to mix with Red Bull and Sour Patch Kids.

"Breathe, Axel."

"What? Who has time for that? Look so you just slip these bad boys on and…" Mick already had them on his hands. "Right. Exactly. And the fuel pack goes…yep you got it. So since you can't like grip anything too well, I made these so all you gotta do is…"

Mick had figured out how to use them without Axel's need to explain. The pyromaniac did some kind of movement and fire had leapt from his forearms. The flames swirled around the gauntlets before being shot out of the ends. Axel had had to duck rather quickly to avoid losing all his hair.

Thankfully they had been inside the Mirror Verse at the time. Though a mirror across from them was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Roy wondered what that looked like from the other side. Was someone checking their hair in the mirror and suddenly they were staring into nothing but fire?

Must have permanently damaged that person's self esteem.

Axel had stood up quickly, and brushed himself off. He rocked back on his heels.

"Pretty sweet right?"

Roy could practically see the need for validation in Axel's eyes.

"Not bad kid."

Axel's smile was huge. The kid looked like he wanted to hug Mick. Not something that Mick ever allowed. But considering the circumstances, Roy was certain this was the only moment it would have been achievable.

"Of course they're not bad. I'm literally the best!"

Mick had been practicing with them in the Mirror Verse ever since. Often disappearing for hours into the darkest corners of the immense space. Though Scudder or Dillon were always able to locate him.

Mick's distraction gave them enough time to stand. The robot behind them was still moving about, its body only partially still on fire. It refocused its attention and pointed a gun at them.

A small object landed in front of the robot. It ignored the spinning object and continued to move towards the Rogues. The small object continued to spin until the robot was only inches away.

A flurry of razor sharp metal wires burst out of the top on the ground. The wires wrapped around the robot, tightening with every rotation, until it was tearing into its metal frame. The wires wrapped around its body, its legs, and its head. The machine was unable to move, unable to break free.

It looked a bit like a mummy, covered in a strange metal wrapping. The wires cut through the metal body of the robot, tearing it into several large chunks. They fell to the ground with a loud crash.

The parts sparked and twitched, but there was no doubt the thing was completely destroyed.

Roy tried to ignore the fact that Dillon had created those tops to be used on human enemies. Someone really needed to talk to Axel about some of the stuff he was building for the other members of the team.

Dillon walked over from beside the restaurant, she stood over the destroyed machine. She casually bent over and picked up the now empty top.

"Looks like I came out on top of that one."

She smirked.

Mardon ignored her terrible wordplay for more pressing matters.

"Our powers?"

"Ready whenever you kids are."

Mark smiled. He used a gust of wind to pull some of Mick's flames up towards the helicopters above. Lisa grabbed her gun and started firing at the cop cars.

"Roy, go find Iris."

Roy ran back into the restaurant. She was ducked behind the counter, trying to avoid being seen. Though Roy couldn't help but notice she was talking to herself.

"The 2XL fired in the direction of the Rogues, which was also the direction of the police officers. This is completely contrary to Mr. Luthor's insistence that the androids are not capable of…"

"Really?"

She turned towards him.

"People need to know what they are letting Luthor get away with. All in the name of fear. Plus, he can't hack this bad boy." She held up the voice recorder. Roy could actually see the small tape inside of it. He wasn't sure you could even buy those things in the store anymore. She must have had to get it off of eBay.

"Time to go."

She stood up and started to follow him towards the back door. He touched the earpiece. Activating it now that Axel's EMP had already done its thing.

"We're heading out the back."

"Meet you there. Mick, Dillon, and Mark are going to keep cover for another minute. Scudder will grab us by the window on the nearby grocery."

Roy and Iris walked to the corner of the building. Lisa joined them less than a minute later.

"I think we…"

Roy barely had time to react to the sound of gunshots behind him. He had barely turned his head when he felt a slight breeze.

There was…another version of the Flash standing between them and almost certain death at the hands of another one of the androids.

The new Flash disappeared and the next second the robot was in pieces on the ground. Then he raced back and grabbed Ms. West by the arm, pulling her several feet away from Roy and Lisa.

"Are you alright? What the hell were you thinking?"

"Yea…I'm fine we…" Suddenly the surprise at almost being murdered seemed to wear off and she slapped the new Flash on the arm. "What the hell Wally? You followed me?"

"Of course I followed you! Once I figured you were running out to meet up with a bunch of freaking murders and…"

"Standing right here Baby Flash."

The kid whipped his head around. Clearly not a fan of his new nickname. By Lisa's smirk, Roy got the feeling it was going to stick.

"Don't call me that."

Lisa smiles.

"Sorry, you prefer…Wally was it?"

Iris looks horrified. She opens her mouth as if to offer a rebuttal but Lisa waves her off.

"Not hard to figure out he's your brother, even if you hadn't just blurted his name out. Lenny uses that exact same tone with me all the time. Plus Lenny did thorough background checks on all of you years ago. Not too hard to figure out who was in the suit. The real question is why Baby Flash is here and not version 1.0."

Iris and Wally exchange a quick glance.

Lisa continues talking.

"Of course. Maybe Regular Flash doesn't know either of you are here. Because he wouldn't approve. So Flash thinks we're guilty just like everyone else. That's a little disappointing. I thought he liked…"

"It's complicated. Everyone thinks he was working with you."

"Yes, yes we've all heard those ridiculous rumors. The questions is, are we going to keep having this conversation here, or do you want to…"

The new Flash took a step in between himself, Iris, and Lisa. Roy could see the family resemblance, even through the mask. Even more so when Iris rolled her eyes at new Flash's actions.

"We aren't going to back to your secret lair…or whatever."

"Secret Lair. Oh honey, you are adorable. I could eat you up."

Iris took a step in front of her brother.

"We're in this deep. If we are going to get to Luthor, we all have to work together. As long as…"

"Don't worry your baby brother's secret identity is safe with us."

Roy can only imagine how Mardon is going to react to this.

"Yea, your word, isn't going to cut it. I want assurances. You want that chip out of your brother's neck, then you are going to do what we say. If any of you do anything that could endanger my family, then I will make damn sure you are all in prison before I expose Luthor."

Lisa's smile was genuine now.

"Oh I like you."

Iris smirked.

"Well then, now that that's settled. Shall we?"

* * *

He'd blamed a lot of people when his brother died.

That piece of shit cop was at the top of the list of course. Cops were all the same. Talked a big game about protecting people, but would just kill anybody if the feeling struck them.

Their shit parents for giving up on them when they was kids. If they had just taken care of them like they were supposed to, none of this would have happened.

Harrison Wells for setting off the particle accelerator. For setting up the situation where a cop would even have a chance to shoot his brother without Mark being there to stop it.

The doctors in the hospital who made him stay in bed. Made him lie there and eat shitty food while his brother was bleeding out.

The Flash. For all his damn heroics had still let his brother die when it came right down to it. Decided his brother's life wasn't worth saving. Like he gets to decide who is worth it just because he's got powers. Only difference between the Flash and anyone else, is people cheer him when he gets people killed.

Now standing here in front of him was a goddamn two for one. The son and daughter of the man who killed his brother, and one of them a speedster. Gotta know the original Flash. Gotta be some kind of bond between them if he's letting this kid run around in a suit just like his. He kills the kids, he destroys the Flash and Detective West in one swoop.

Course, going to be hard with the way all the other Rogues are watching him out of the corner of their eyes. Snart is full on glaring at him. Guess the wind in here was starting to pick up a bit. He tries to calm it down and Snart turns back to the chick in front of him.

"You are certain of all this information?"

"Of course. It took me months of digging, and some not inconsiderable money, to find some of this."

"Why not just publish it in your newspaper then?"

"So Luthor can come out and discredit it? I don't want this to become something that can be swept under the rug. If this is going to work, then the presentation of my finding will have to be…dramatic."

Snart looked positively pleased for a moment.

"And so you came to us of course."

"No one more dramatic than Leonard Snart."

"Compliments are always appreciated Ms. West."

"Iris, we…"

"Don't worry Baby Flash. I think I've caught on to your sister's line of thinking. We do the dirty work, get that last little bit of proof you need, and then you publish your findings."

"Can you do it?"

"Of course."

"It needs to be soon."

"I didn't realize we were on a schedule here. Something you left off of your little flash drive?"

"Luthor is good, but people are questioning him already and he can't silence them all. Plus all the other metas who were experimented on, they aren't going to stay silent forever. Eventually someone will believe their story. Someone with the right amount of influence. He's…I think he's going to try and move forward with another attack."

"Since my…little meltdown didn't go quite as planned you mean."

"Yes. I think he needs to have something big happen. The fact that you guys still haven't been caught keeps getting brought up. He guaranteed your capture and he doesn't have you. It makes him look bad. So he is going to stage another attack, with a scapegoat that he will already have under his control."

"Deflecting away from all the inconsistencies and lies. People do tend to ask less questions when they are afraid. It's a good plan."

Boy West had actually looked disgusted by the tone of Snart's voice.

"You're actually praising this guy? After what he did…"

"I appreciate a well thought out plan. Doesn't mean I don't fully intend to destroy this man and everything he loves."

Kid's back is to him. One lightening bolt and he'd be on the ground. Then another one to finish him off. Burn him from the inside out.

Roy's standing beside him. Giving him a full on glare. Roy would stop him. Try at least. He knows Roy's powers aren't back to where they should be. Knows it would just take a minute and the others would be on him. But what would they do? Kick him out? So he breaks the rules one time and kills some people for revenge. Snart has killed more people than he has and he's still in charge.

For now at least.

Scudder's been making noise. Saying things about how he'd do things different. Let the Rogues off their leash. Stop hiding in run down motels. Dillon's been making Scudder's case. Talks about getting their revenge. Just killing Luthor and letting the cards fall where they will. Not like they'd be any worse off than they are now.

Roy had explained it to him earlier. About the plan. About the info Girl West has. They need these kids right now. He's been working on his patience. Working on trying not to just react to everything. Maybe if he bides his time. If he goes a long with this for now…

Sounds like a big fight coming up. Shit happens all the time in a throw down like that. Not his fault if he accidentally sends a gust of wind the wrong way. Kid ends up drowning, the water crashing over him, breaking him into little…

"Mardon…" Roy's voice is little more than a whisper. Mardon gives him a glance, but Roy is looking at Mardon's hands.

There's lightening crackling around his fingers. He hadn't even felt it.

He tries to force it to stop, but it's just curling around him. He doesn't want it to stop. He likes the feel of it in his veins. Likes the idea that he could finally end this. End that bastard who shot his little brother.

Make sure that cop knows exactly what it's like to lose your family. What it's like to have to look at them laying in a whole in the ground. Dirt all around, staining their clothes and hair. Making them look like some piece of trash that had just been abandoned in a ditch.

Coroner had labeled his brother as having no family and dropped him in some potter's field. He'd had to scour a bunch of records just to figure out which plot it had been.

He'd found it eventually.

Spent more than a couple hours in a graveyard digging up his brother. Hands had been bleeding by the end of it.

Pissed him off the most to think that their old man was still alive out there somewhere. Knew their mother had died, doesn't even know how. Just that Clyde had looked it up one day. Curiosity he had said.

Sentimentality is what Mardon had said.

Didn't feel anything about it. He'd hated her as much as he had hated their old man. Every time she just stood back and let the old bastard hit them. Any time she'd throw in a slap or two, or complain about how much they were eating.

When she sold Clyde's favorite stuffed animal, Jojo, for a couple bucks and Clyde had cried himself to sleep for a week.

That's when he had hated her the most.

He'd thought about that when he was pulling his brother's body out of an unmarked grave.

Thought about finding his old man and killing him. Hadn't thought about that in years. But it had been all he could think of when he was holding what used to be his baby brother. Had buried him down in that old abandoned warehouse they used to play in when they were kids.

Was the only place they had played where none of the memories were tainted by their parents dragging them away or hitting them for staying out too long. Plus the hot dog stand across the way used to throw out all their old buns in a sealed plastic bag. None of the other stuff from the dumpster would get through the bag. So they could eat as much of that as they wanted there.

It was the only place he could remember them never going hungry. He thought Clyde would have like that. Liked to be where they had only happy memories.

"Is this going to be a problem for you?"

Takes him a second to realize that the chick is addressing him. Snart's looking real pissed. The new Flash just looks confused.

Mark knows what Snart wants, what he should do. Keep his mouth shut. Just go along with the plan. Don't let anyone see that there's a problem in the ranks. Especially not with the way Scudder and Dillon are watching everything from their little corner.

"If I killed your baby brother. How long would it take you to get over it?"

He can practically hear Roy roll his eyes and run a hand over his face. The "idiot" is implied.

She takes a couple steps towards him. His fingers twitch. God he could just kill her right now…

"I wouldn't go after your family. I would…"

"Bullshit. You don't know what you'd do. You know what you tell yourself you'd do. But I don't think you're quite as sweet as you've convinced yourself you are. I think you'd get blood in your eyes just as much as the rest of us. Kill anyone you had to."

She ain't backing down. Neither is he.

Roy wraps a hand around Mardon's arm.

"Mark."

He rips his hand out of Roy's grasp.

"This is bullshit."

He turns and stalks out. Though he can hear Roy following him. Probably wanting to make sure Mardon doesn't just walk outside then blow the building away.

Lightening still cracking around his fingers. He loves how familiar it feels. Hasn't had the chance to really let loose in too long. He hears thunder up above, crashing down, cutting through the wind. Sounds like even the skies are on his side.

Roy doesn't say anything, just stares at him. Got his shades on so Mark can't tell what he's thinking. But he can make a guess.

Mark finally gets the skies to calm down a bit. Roy is still waiting on Mark to say something. Give some kind of reason for being so stupid about this. Finally the artist seems to get a little annoyed.

"They have information that…"

"That can what? Clear our names? Get us immunity? You don't really believe that BS do you? You really think that even if we prove we didn't kill those people that anyone will just believe it? Just move on and let us go? We're still criminals. Still going to be hunted, nothing is going to get us back to what we were. Might as well take as many bastards with us before we go."

Roy doesn't reply. Does that irritating thing where he just stands there, like he knows something about you. Something you don't want to say. Which is bullshit, Roy don't got the social skills to be reading people.

Just sometimes, he can just see emotions, flickers in people.

More than Mardon wants anyone to see.

More than he wants to see in himself.

He starts walking towards the little market in town. Roy doesn't follow him.

After their dad walked out and their mom spent all her time somewhere else, social services had come by. Don't know who snitched on them. Mark had been doing a good job of it. Keeping Clyde clean, getting him to school. So maybe sometimes they went without, and he didn't have the money to keep the electricity and the water going. Were dozens of people in that neighborhood in the same situation. Just cause they had someone older looking out for them didn't make them any better off than Mark and Clyde were.

Put them in a group home. Wasn't bad for awhile. Mark knew as soon as he got a chance he could get them out of there. Could find someplace for them to live. Couple more years and he would be sixteen. Then no one would question him about where his parents were. Could take Clyde, get an apartment. Could have even gotten a job if he had to. He had just needed a little more time.

The Sinclairs.

They ruined everything. Coming into the home, talking about how cute Clyde was. How smart he was.

Clyde had liked them too. Liked how they didn't get mad when he made a mistake. Liked how Mrs. Sinclair always answered all his questions. How they would take him out to eat or make him a sandwich that wasn't moldy. How they talked about his future.

They brought him a little Lego set. Saying how he could be an architect when he grew up.

Mark had known they didn't want the same for him. Sure they talked about taking him. Talked about how they would never break up brothers. How they had a room for him too. Even showed him pictures of it.

He knew it was bullshit. No matter what they said, he knew they would just take Clyde and leave him behind. Show his brother how better they were at taking care of him. It was all they ever did. Rubbed it in his face every day, how bad Mark had done in keeping his brother fed. Getting him up, getting him to school, keeping him clean. Talked about buying him clothes and shoes without holes in them, like Mark hadn't done enough to protect his brother.

They thought they were just going to swoop in and take his brother from him? Thought they would prove how shit a brother he was? He couldn't let them do that. Clyde need him.

He was all he had.

He'd snuck Clyde out one night. Telling him they had to run, because their dad was coming back for them.

Clyde had believed him. Of course he had. Mark always kept him safe when their dad was looking for them. Packed a bag and never looked back.

They had to live on the streets for awhile. Had to steal to eat. Clyde only brought up the Sinclairs once or twice.

"Why can't we ask them for help? They said…"

"They didn't care about us Clyde. You're too young. You'll be able to tell when people are lying to you when you're older. I'll take care of you. Nobody else."

Clyde never asked about them again. Then it was bank robbery after bank robbery. Jail time interspersed between.

Then his little brother was laying in a morgue.

Alone.

A bullet in his back.

No one watching out for him.

Maybe there wasn't a whole bunch of people he blamed for Clyde's death.

Maybe there was just one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 is giving me a little bit of trouble. Hopefully I can get it figured out and push forward with it without too much of a delay in posting.


	6. Chapter 6

The paint wasn't as dark as he wanted it to be. The shadows were too light, things weren't hidden the way they were supposed to be. The buildings of the small village, the people walking down its streets, even the clouds in the sky. The details he could all recall from memory. The small cracks in the building where they had bought most of their food, the missing cobblestones near the turn towards the motel. It was all exactly where it should be.

And yet, it felt completely wrong.

It was all too…bright.

He sighed and looked down at his palette. There were several shades of very degrees of black and grey, even a spotless white blob, but none of them spoke to him. None leapt forward, telling him how to fix the problem in front of him.

He rubbed his eyes after a few moments, letting his mind envision the scene. Seeing everything he knows to be there. Then he opens his eyes. The two images are identical. Or…at least they should be.

He sets the paints down and takes a step backwards.

The painting looked finished. Lisa had even come by yesterday and asked why it was still on the easel. It did look finished but…there was something wrong with it. There was a flaw hidden somewhere in his lines and shades.

A flaw that was glaring at him. A flaw he couldn't see, couldn't place. Couldn't tell why it was making the entire thing look wrong to him. Off in a way that unsettles him.

Like a dream you can't remember, but still leaves you shaking in the morning.

He doesn't know how to fix it.

He resists the urge to simply paint over the whole thing and start again. A feeling he has had many times over the past few days.

He's staring at the small man selling handbags in the corner of the painting, scrutinizing every detail, when he hears a sound behind him.

A loud, crunching sound.

Roy turns, expecting Mardon or Shawna. Though the two have not been by recently. Choosing to spend most of their free time in the Mirror Verse. Even when they weren't watching Luthor or on a mission. Roy wasn't sure what they were doing in there. Using their powers most likely.

Axel is sitting on Roy's bed. A bag of open Doritos are sitting dangerously close to Roy's other finished paintings. Roy narrows his eyes at the crumbs that are littered all over his bed. The boy is reaching into the bag and pulling out handfuls of chips. Eating them without ever taking his eyes off the tablet on his lap.

"Axel."

The boy doesn't look up. His eyes focused completely on the screen in front of him. His crunching is only increasing in volume. Between the chewing and Axel's ridiculously large headphones, Roy doubts the boy can hear him at all.

"Axel!"

The kid is transfixed by whatever he is watching. Roy wanders over, slightly intrigued by what has kept Axel's attention. It was unusual for the kid to stay quiet for so long. Normally choosing to interject all manner of noises and commentary while watching a movie.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fight between the Rogues and Luthor's forces. It had been the only thing the news showed for several days following the event.

The first real sighting of all the Rogues together since they had disappeared from the cabin all those weeks ago. The cat was officially out of the bag about Scudder and Dillon working with them now. Snart said they had to plan for the cops and Luthor to start building defenses against Scudder's powers.

Axel is watching cartoons.

Roy wonders why he thought it would be something useful. He taps the kid on the headphones.

Axel tears his eyes away and glares at him.

"What?"

Roy raises an eyebrow at the boys tone and the level of his voice. Finally, Axel gives a long and dramatic sigh and removes his headphones. He then makes an exaggerated show of hitting the pause button. Roy feels a bit like a schoolteacher, asking a student to put away a phone in class.

"Was there something you needed?"

"What? No." Axel diverts his eyes. Staring down at his hands, picking at the flaking nail polish on his left hand.

"Axel…"

"Dude, it's nothing. I was just chilling…" Axel lets out another dramatic sigh. "Ok, so like, I was having this totally reasonable talk with Mick about his gauntlets and the dude flips out. So I took them without telling him, he was sleeping. Even he can't start fires when he's sleeping. Plus, I made them! They're technically mine. But then he said something about burning my intestines blah blah blah, so I said not cool. But then he makes me sit there and put the gauntlets back together. Even though his whole argument was that I touched them in the first place! I mean, make up your mind dude. But then he's all, you need to learn a lesson or whatever. And he's like making me sit there to watch him test them and write down all these heat measurements so he can upgrade them himself later. But he got distracted after he set this big tree on fire, and side bar, how the hell is he like pulling whole trees and stuff in there? Like it was real weird just floating there with its roots all hanging about. I thought I would rather watch paint dry than watch Mick set another boring thing in the Mirror Verse on fire. So I came in here."

Roy takes a moment to process Axel's rapid fire speech.

"You, came in here, because it was slightly less boring than watching a fire."

"Exactly. I mean I know you can't watch yourself paint but it's like super boring. You stand there for like whole minutes without moving and make like two brushes or whatever then stare at it again."

Roy sighed.

"Please leave."

"Whaaaattt? I was being super quiet! I've been here for like half hour. How do you not notice that by the way?"

It was common knowledge amongst the Rogues that Roy could not notice an entire army entering his room when he was painting. Cold had given him several talks about it over the years. That he needed to work on his situational awareness. That he needed to be able to tell if someone was in the room that could kill him.

Roy liked to think he had gotten better at it.

Clearly he had not.

"Plus, I gotta work man! And how am I supposed to do that if I'm on fire? I mean that's just irresponsible."

Roy almost said that Mick wouldn't set Axel on fire. That the man wouldn't do that to any of the Rogues. But the way Mick's been acting recently. The still constant fights with Snart. His insistence on wearing those gauntlets at all times, staying in the Mirror Verse for days on end. Not to mention, how annoying Axel can be sometimes…

"You're watching cartoons."

"I'm doing research. See!"

"How is SpongeBob research?"

"It's the episode where the Krabby Patty is…"

Roy rubbed his eyes again, as Axel began a detailed explanation of the history of SpongeBob SquarePants.

"Axel."

"It's inspiration man! Don't you ever look for inspiration when…"

Axel cut himself off abruptly and sort of glanced back down at the tablet. He didn't need to finish the sentence.

When you're stuck.

It had been almost a week since their meeting with the Wests. Since Iris had given them most of the data on the flash drive. And exactly five days since Axel had said it would take him an hour to find the information Iris wanted before she would give them the rest of the data on how to remove Snart's chip.

A piece of cake the kid had said.

All she wanted was some info on the homeless people that had been taken. Giving the missing people names for her article. Giving the public faces to link to the tragedy at Evergreen. The police and Luthor had never let that information be released, protecting the victims they had said. Iris had insisted it was so the surviving family members wouldn't ask questions.

Axel had said a baby could do it.

Five days of coming up against Luthor's defenses and being easily defeated. Three days since they had to leave their Italian motel and relocate to a safe house in Mexico. Luthor had been able to backtrack one of Axel's programs and had pinpointed their location.

They had all escaped unscathed. But Axel had taken the brunt of the blame.

The boy was becoming more and more agitated as the days went on. Spinning his wheels, second guessing himself. Sitting quietly and thinking. Not something that Roy generally associated with the bombastic youth.

And there was no one who could really help him with it. No one to bounce ideas off of. The only other people who had experience breaking into systems like that were the Snarts and Digger. And they all admitted it was way above anything any of them had ever done.

Roy turned back to his painting. He could imagine the frustration Axel was feeling, not being able to see the flaw in Luthor's code. Knowing that cracking it would mean Snart would finally be free.

That they would have concrete proof to show that Luthor was the one who was to blame.

It was all on Axel's shoulders now.

The others were trying not to compound the pressure.

But it was difficult when there were constant reminders of everything they'd been through. Mick's burns, Snart's ever present anti-meta collar. The news reports. The mirrors in their pockets in case they got found again.

Snart had actually sent Scudder, Dillon, Lisa, Shawna, and Mark out on a simple run earlier. Trying to find information about anyone who could potentially remove the chip once Ms. West gave them the rest of the data. Break into an old LuthorCorp building. Stealing records of former employees. Ones they could intimidate. Ones who had medical backgrounds.

An easy job. Meant to give the Rogues something concrete to do. To give Axel some space to just work.

They should be back soon. And Axel doesn't appear to be any closer to finding a way in to Luthor's defenses.

Roy turns back to Axel.

"Don't get any Dorito crumbs on my paintings."

"Dude would you even be able to tell? Like does this look just like I have dust on my fingers to you?"

Axel stuck his hand in Roy's face. Roy jerked his head back, avoiding contact with the kid's dirty and no doubt slobber covered fingers.

Roy isn't sure how agreeing to let Axel keep watching cartoons on his bed somehow ended up with them sitting on the living room couch playing video games.

Or why it was such an affront to Axel that Roy had no interest in playing something called Wolfenstein.

"But it's literally the best, like is there anything better than killing Nazis? They're the ultimate bad guys. No one can be sad when they're blowing a Nazi's head off. Ok, what about Resident Evil?

"No."

"Come on, we can start now and have it beaten in like 26 hours max."

Roy tried to think of any video games he actually remembered playing. He doubted asking Axel if he had a copy of Frogger on his computer would get him back to painting any sooner.

"Mario Kart?"

That was a thing. He remembered a few of his dorm mates playing it in their rooms.

"Ugh, that's so old school. Fine Grandpa, we can play Mario Kart."

Whatever game Axel put in, it was definitely not the game he remembered. He didn't remember vortexes into space on the version he had played in college.

He decided to simply go along with it.

Even if he kept falling off the side of the road and catching fire.

"How can you be so bad at this? It's your level!"

Axel had already gotten first place, his character raising its arms over its head. It wasn't Mario or the Princess so Roy didn't really know which character it was. It looked like a vacuum cleaner with a bow on its head.

"My level?"

"Rainbow Road bro!"

Roy was about to make a comment about exactly what he thought of the level when a turtle knocked him off the side of the road. At least he assumed it was supposed to be some kind of turtle.

"Daaammnnn dude. That Koopa Troopa just straight up…."

Roy glanced over at Axel, the boy was staring slack jawed at the TV. He dropped his controller and basically sprinted out of the room.

Roy watched the space Axel had disappeared from for a moment.

Did that count as a forfeit? He was going to count that as a win for him.

"Really been slacking off lately Roy."

Roy turned his head at Snart's voice. The man was looking slightly bemused by the scene in front of him. Roy looked around, several empty Red Bulls, three bags of Doritos, and small packs of Pop Rocks littered the ground around him.

"Axel…"

Snart waves a hand.

"I saw the dust trails he left when sprinting out of the room. Did he say anything?"

"No."

"Well, here's to hoping it was inspiration related and not indigestion related."

Snart looks like he wants to pick up some of the trash littering the living room. He finally decides against it and lounges against the couch's arm rest.

"The others checked in?"

"Hmm. Lisa said they found the files no problem."

Still there was something in the way Snart was sitting. Looking idly around the room.

"Digger and Mick?"

"Last I saw they were sparring in the Mirror Verse."

It was an oddly quiet moment. Incongruous with the constant rush and fear their lives had been recently.

"Do you want to…?" Roy sort of nods towards Axel's abandoned controller. Snart raises an eyebrow. Roy supposes he should feel foolish asking Snart to play video games with him. But he was getting that same feeling he had when he realized Axel was sitting in his room.

They were all in this odd holding pattern. Waiting for something to happen. Something that will give them what they need. For Luthor to make another move on them, or perpetrate another attack to blame on metahumans.

Axel wasn't the only one who was stuck.

"Maybe next time."

Roy starts to stand and head back for his room when he hears the door in the kitchen opening. Snart glances towards the entering Rogues, a small frown on his face.

"Where's the rest?"

Lisa is the only one who comes through the door.

"They decided to go for a drink."

Roy gets the feeling there is something both of them aren't saying. Something that they will discuss as soon as he is out of the room.

"So, I'll just…"

Roy heads back to his painting. Well. Back to staring at his painting.

Maybe he should go out for a drink, get away from it for a moment. It's too bad he can't go back to the Italian village and look at it one more time. No doubt it was crawling with cops tearing their motel apart. Trying to find any clue as to where they went.

Axel doesn't leave his bedroom for 34 hours.

When he finally does emerge, most of the Rogues are on assignments, staking out potential doctors to remove Snart's chip.

Roy and Lisa had scoped out a man in California with little luck. The man had clearly become an alcoholic in his years since leaving LuthorCorp. The man's hands would never be steady enough to do what needed done. They could only hope the others had better luck with their candidates.

Roy was only mildly surprised to see Wally and Iris West in the living room when they returned.

Axel looked like he hadn't changed or slept since ending their impromptu video game session. Roy was certain he could smell the kid from here.

Kid Flash looked incredibly annoyed.

Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that Digger was flicking paperclips shaped like boomerangs at the back of the kid's neck every time he turned around.

Roy wasn't going to mention that there was one stuck in the kid's hair. Especially since his sister didn't appear to be mentioning it either.

Roy glanced around. Mark didn't appear to be back from his recon with Dillon. Which was a relief for everyone. Hopefully, they can get this done before the man's return.

"Hey sis, I was just telling Ms. West here about Axel's discovery."

"Really? The boy genius finally came through?"

"Like there was ever any doubt! I was like, oh what's that Luthor, you've got 27 layers of security surrounding this? Well not today asshole, I was like…" Axel descended into making machine gun and explosion noises. While widely moving his arms around.

"Easy man." Kid Flash took a step back when it looked like Axel might accidentally smack him in the face.

"I believe what young Mr. Walker is attempting to convey is that he was able to get through Luthor's security and obtain videos of the homeless people that were experimented on. It's not exactly the list you asked for, but there are ID numbers linked to locations of collection. You should be able to do the rest. I believe an exchange is in order."

Iris stares at the flash drive in Snart's hand. She reaches out and takes it slowly.

"And it's all here?"

"Ms. West, it's like you don't trust us."

She smirks slightly at Snart's tone.

"I really must insist."

Snart waves a hand.

"Axel, grab one of your laptops so that we can show Ms. West the contents of your findings."

"Right so like, I was so focused on finding the data and I was completely missing like totally obvious holes in storing large video files like that. And he's hardly the type to have it on a VHS tape somewhere, dude thinks he can't be hacked so he can keep all the digital files he wants…"

"How did you manage to get through his defenses?"

Axel coughs slightly into his hand.

"Um, that's like a trade secret. And you wouldn't understand all the technical stuff anyway. Anywho, so…" Axel basically sprints out of the room to retrieve his laptop.

"Roy."

Roy looks at Lisa, she gives a slight indication to the kitchen. He turns and can see Mark and Dillon through the kitchen window, walking towards the backdoor. He nods and heads into the kitchen. He grabs two beers out of the fridge. Just a little interference to make sure Mark doesn't overreact to the Wests' presence.

Roy extends the beer towards Mark once he enters the kitchen.

"Finally decided to…" Mark doesn't finish his sentence, doesn't even take the beer.

Mark's eyes are focused solely on the West siblings in the living room. Damn open floor plan safe houses.

"Mark."

The man doesn't react.

Dillon takes the beer out of Roy's hands.

"Have a drink Mark. Might calm you down."

Mark turns to Dillon and takes the beer. He drinks the whole thing then tosses it towards the trashcan. Dillon glances at Mark again, then turns to Roy.

"So, they came through with their promises then? The Wests? They actually gave Snart the info on how to remove the chip?"

Roy looks at Dillon, but keeps Mark in the corner of his eye.

"Axel got the info on Luthor they wanted so…"

She smiles slightly.

"Good. Having a Flash around, even a baby one, seems like asking for trouble. I mean you know how heroes are, what's to stop them from just turning us all in now that they've got what they want?"

"I'd kill them first."

Mark's tone was deadly. Roy sincerely hoped the people in the living room couldn't hear what was happening in the kitchen. The last thing they needed was a bloodbath right now.

"Hm. If Snart lets you, of course. He seems awfully chummy with the heroes these days. Makes you wonder…"

Mark's looking at Dillon, focusing on her face. Her back is turned to Roy, and he has the sudden urge to just hit her over the head with his beer bottle. Roy doesn't like the way she's talking. Doesn't like what she's implying. She's only going to make things worse.

Roy takes a step closer, putting himself between Mark and the entrance to the living room.

"The Wests have held up their end of the bargain."

Her smile makes Roy want to punch something.

"Have they? Seems awfully strange that a bunch of heroes couldn't find this information out for themselves. And that they still haven't gone public about what they know of Cadmus and all the other metas…"

"We need them…"

Mark cuts into Roy and Dillion's conversation.

"We don't need anybody but us."

Dillon just continued to smile at Mark's quick words.

"Once Snart's chip is removed, what use are they?"

She sounded genuinely curious. As though she couldn't understand why they hadn't killed the two heroes yet. Roy sneered at her.

"Seems like we have a tendency to keep our enemies alive."

She smirks at Roy's response.

"Yes. And how has that worked out for you? Sam thinks you should kill them all. And…"

"You do whatever your boyfriend says?"

"He's gotten us this far. I trust him..."

"We trust Snart."

"Of course. He's your leader. He's responsible for getting you this far." She grabs a beer out of the fridge and walks into the living room. Bypassing the meeting happening and disappearing farther into the house.

Roy watches her leave. His anger towards Dillon starts to fade as she walks away. Still…

"The sooner we can drop those two, the better."

Roy looks back towards Mark, but the man wasn't listening. He was still staring at the living room, though his glare seemed to be focused on Snart.

"Mark."

There was a look of pure hatred on the man's face.

"Mark." Roy grabbed the man's shoulder. The look of venom on his face didn't change when he looked at Roy.

"You keep stopping me from killing them. Don't get in my way again Roy."

"What…?"

Mark all but growled. He jerked his arm out of Roy's grip then stalked away.

What the hell was that?

Roy knew that Mark still held on to his anger about his brother's death, that it was unlikely he would ever let it go, but this…

Mark almost knocked Shawna over in his haste to leave the confines of the safe house.

"Watch it asshole. Oh no, just keep walking. Dick. What the hell is his problem?"

"He's…"

Roy found he really didn't have an explanation for the man's behavior.

"…tired."

"Well tell the baby to take a nap. My hair can't handle all the static electricity he generates when he's frustrated."

Roy felt a genuine smile slip onto his face. He hands Shawna a beer. She takes it and sits at the kitchen table, Roy takes the seat opposite her.

"How did the recon go?"

"Ugh. Not great. We stalked out that place for hours and there was no sign of this Doctor. If we are going to get that doohickey out of Snart's neck then we need to find this guy before we get spotted. Not that hanging out in a Starbucks pretending to be a hipster writing a novel is a hard way to spend a day but still. Just felt like a complete waste of time, you know? I mean I could get in and out of these buildings like that, but Snart's still sidelining me. Don't know why he doesn't just send his new BFF Scudder to do it."

Roy sincerely doubted that Scudder and Snart would ever be anything even remotely considered friends. Shawna was just continuing her habit of complaining about every mission that Snart didn't put her on. Every mission where he used Scudder, where Scudder's powers were implied to be more useful than hers.

There were very few doctors they could go to do what needed to be done. All of their usual underground contacts would sell them out, any respectable doctor would call the police or refuse to do the surgery. From the files they had stolen earlier, Shawna and Mick had staked out a doctor who used to work for LuthorCorp in the Research and Development arm of the weapons programs. A man who was fired from Luthor Corp for "violating company policies in regard to ethical practices."

Roy didn't want to think about how unethical you had to be to be fired from LuthorCorp.

"Hopefully he will show tomorrow."

"Fingers crossed."

Roy hesitates a moment. He doesn't want to ruin this calm moment. But he can't stop thinking about the still unfinished painting in his room. About Snart's disquiet. About Mark's outburst. And Dillion's questions.

"What do you think of Dillon?"

"Scudder's a piece of shit. But Rosa's alright."

"Really?"

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't trust her or anything. But I think she's just gotten pulled along by Scudder. I mean that dude is so egotistical I'm surprised he remembers she's in the room half the time. She loves him so she follows whatever he says. I've been trying to talk to her, you know, get her to see she doesn't need him or whatever. But…" She waves a hand and takes another sip of her beer.

"Do you think you can get through to her?"

"I don't know. I don't even know if there would be a point. Pretty sure Snart's going to put a bullet in both of them when this is all over. Maybe he will be lenient with her. You think he might?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Even to Roy's ears, his maybe sounded distinctly like a no.

Shawna smiled sadly.

"Yea, that's what I thought. You finish that painting yet?"

"No, there's still something wrong with it."

"Maybe you should stop being a perfectionist and just let it be done. I mean, everyone else thinks it's done. You're the only one who sees something missing."

"Hm."

He had started another painting. Though the village painting still mocked him from its easel.

Why couldn't he just put it away? Why couldn't he just let it be done?

What was he missing?

* * *

Scudders a bit of a twat. Far too clean for Digger's taste. Sort of turns his nose up at some of Digger's more hilarious jokes.

But Digger's feeling generous.

And he's on a bit of a mission.

The Snarts weren't exactly excited about this alliance. Makes sense of course, and Digger figures they'll kill Scudder and Dillon once this is all over, but they ain't going to go into anything blind.

And Lisa's been saying she thinks they're up to something. Don't trust Scudder's mirrors, don't trust that he's not hiding something that can screw the Rogues over.

So here Digger is, trying to chat up some bloke who's never even tried moonshine before.

And people call Digger the uncultured one.

"Tastes like your mum's apple pie. Go on then."

"I'd rather not go blind."

"Aw that's a load of shit that. Most moonshine in the US don't make you blind no more. Ain't done it that way for decades. Now it's all proper. Hipsters make it in their kitchens, sell little kits at Walmart."

Digger's going to leave off the part where he didn't buy this from some 20 something out of a bodega. But from a man in his fifties whose IQ was probably lower than the number of his remaining teeth.

No reason to worry the man about it. Besides, Digger's already had a few swigs and he ain't blind yet.

"No."

Nothing funnier than a hard no to a simple request. Digger smiles at the man.

"Your loss mate. Not any other alcohol around though. So you'll just have to get through listening to Trickster talk about his hacking mumbo jumbo while stone cold sober. I've never managed it me self. Not to mention listening to Snart explain all the details of his latest and greatest plan…"

Scudder clenches his fist.

There it is. The first little crack in the façade. He ain't happy about this little alliance. Course he's never been quiet about that, always undermining Snart every chance he gets. But the frustration of it all is starting to get to him. Having to follow a man he hates, that'd get to anybody. Might do something stupid, like give away more of his plan than he means too.

"I know what you're doing."

"Is that right?"

"You're trying to figure out if I'm hiding anything. If I'm going to betray you all."

"Oh I know you won't."

Man looks a little stunned at that.

"Really? You're actually going to say that you trust me?"

This time, Digger really does laugh.

"Aw, no mate. Trust you? Come on now. I barely trust this lot. See, I know you won't betray us because…"

"I'm not that stupid?"

"You're not that smart."

Man's pissed now. His little girl's been stroking his ego, amongst other things, getting him all riled up. Saying he's all powerful. Controlling a whole other universe like he does, gone to the man's head. Way Mardon's powers go to his. They all think they're more than they are.

But Digger's spent his whole life around drug lords, and generals, and men who built themselves up as saviors. And despite all their armies, and weapons, and followers, and supposed divinity, at the end it was always the same.

They're just men. Some had better weapons than others sure, but they all fall the same way.

All died choking on their own blood.

"See, way I figure it. If you was going to turn us over, you'd have done it by now. But you'd have had to made a deal prior to coming after us. Had to have gotten immunity from Luthor. But I don't think he'd let you in the front door. Despite your powers, you weren't able to get out of Iron Heights until there was a mass breakout. And you're staying here with us because you know if you go to the cops now they'll just arrest you too. Think you're one of us. So you'd have had to had a better plan than the one you came at us with. And I don't think you got the brains to plan a fake out like that, so…"

Digger notices the man is clenching his fist very tightly now.

Boy don't like being talked down to. Don't like being told he ain't the best. Vanity is the beast of man, or something.

He thinks he read that on the side of a beer bottle once.

"We have a deal. And that is the only thing that is keeping me from killing you right now."

Alright. Digger takes it back. He likes Scudder. Threatening to kill someone just cause they talked down to you a little, was exactly the type of people Digger is used to keeping company with. Never did learn to keep his mouth shut around those types.

"So that's all there was to it then Sammy? Just grab us and throw us at the cops?"

"Don't call me that."

Man don't like getting riled up. Tries to keep up the persona, the calm leader type, but the real him is slipping through. Always does in the end.

"You got a bit of an anger problem. Anyone ever tell you that before?" Digger tipped his mason jar towards Scudder, the man continued to glare at him. "Course so does most of the people in our little group of thieves. Saw a documentary on a bunch of kids who was always screaming and hitting people. Always blame it on the parents. All the doctors and teachers and shit. Figure there's gotta be a couple kids just born with some screws loose..."

"I find it difficult to believe you have ever watched a documentary."

Digger smirked.

"Ok, so maybe it was on in this girl's room while we was having a good time. I was in just the right position behind her to…"

"Please stop."

Digger tips his drink towards Scudder. Takes a good look at the man. It's all about finding out what people will react to. What they are willing to listen to. If they tell you to stop. It's when they say it, that's the important thing.

"My father was a right prick. Same sob story a million boys out there got. Moved us around all the time, military family and all that. Last place was this little town in Australia. Couple months of living there and one day he just comes storming in, saying we're moving off the base. He doesn't like the houses or something. Now, me and my ma knew better than to ask questions. So we packed up, moved out into the middle of nowhere. Fifty miles from the nearest town. Even farther from the base. I knew something wasn't right, but my dad left in the morning, and came back at night, so just figured he liked the commute. Wasn't going to argue about having less time with him. Then one day, I walk into the kitchen and my ma's dead on the floor. Looked all around for him, but he'd skipped out. Took a bag and everything. Didn't have a phone or nothing at the house, hell we didn't have running water, just the well out front. Left me alone with my dead ma and no way to contact anyone. He'd taken our only car. Course I was only 11 at the time, so not like I could have driven anywhere. But it's the principle of the thing."

Digger takes another swig, keeps a discrete eye on Scudder. Man's watching him, looking a little confused. Trying to figure out why Digger was sharing his life story. Digger knows he talks a lot, more than people expect a former spy to. Got it so most people sort of ignore when he's talking. Got them so they don't realize they're subconsciously reacting to his words. Little twitches, glares at certain phrases, eye rolls, every micro expression is like a little confession. Little bit of information about who they are.

People never realize how much they give away when they stay silent.

"He killed her?"

"Nah. Thought that for a while. But turns out it was just a blood vessel in her brain. Just blew out or something." Digger forces his hand down when he starts to rub at the chip in his neck. Now's not the time to be giving anything away he don't want told. "He must have just seen an opportunity to be free of us and took it."

"Father of the year." Scudder's trying to be placating. Trying to play nice. Digger smirks. He doesn't have to go much deeper. Doesn't have to tell Scudder about the years between. About getting lost in the outback trying to walk to town to tell someone his mother had died.

Almost dying of thirst out there, his skin cracking and peeling. Knowing he was going to die, getting saved by…

Nah. Scudder don't need to know about any of that.

"He was a real class act. Hell, I joined up with the army when I was old enough just so I'd know how to kill him if I ever saw him again. Was a couple years in, got my skills up. Managed to finagle some things, blackmail a few people. Tracked him down. Stole a gun from a drug dealer during a raid. No way to link it back to me. Sneak up the stairs, slip in unseen. Got it out and cocked…and there the fat bastard is. Dead in his recliner, beer in hand. Heart attack two days earlier. Couldn't even live long enough for me to get the chance to kill him. Had to let me down just one last time. But you don't see me running around with anger issues."

Scudder looks a little confused by Digger's change in tone at the end. Laughing it off. Gotta keep the boy off balance. He'd been looking closer at Digger, trying to spot the lie.

Ain't going to find one.

That's the thing about interrogations. You have to go in there knowing you might be the one laying everything on the line. Be the one giving out all the details.

As long as the details don't matter to anyone but you, it ain't a problem. And it isn't like the fact that he didn't get the chance to kill his bastard of a father is ever going to come up. Not something that can be used against him. He ain't cared about him in decades.

People like that kind of stuff though. Telling deep dark secrets. Makes them feel like they're in on something.

Not killing someone, doesn't even come close to Digger's darkest secret. But that's not something Sammy's ever going to know about.

Not something anyone's going to ever know.

"You think we're going to bond is that it? You have a file on me that told you that my father abandoned me and you thought we'd share a drink and just have a casual conversation?"

Digger smiles.

The easiest way to trick someone, is to make them think they're smarter than you. Digger knows how he comes off, like he never finished grade school. Used that to his advantage every chance he got. Make people think that ARGUS was run by a bunch of idiots that didn't know how to do their jobs.

"Look mate, I'm just trying to have a little chat. You ain't exactly got a lot of people to talk to around here."

"Snart put you up to this."

Digger takes another swig of moonshine.

It's funny how people think they know all the rules. Watch enough cop shows and everyone thinks they're an expert. If that were the case, nobody would ever get arrested.

"Course he put me up to it. You really think he would let you just wander around, especially around his sister, and not try to find out everything he could? Come on mate. He sends me out here to see what I can get you to reveal. It's a classic tactic. I know you've been doing the same thing. The way you've got Dillon cozying up to Shawna. The way she's hanging off of Mick all the time now."

Something flashes in Scudder's eyes. Interesting. Seems he's not the one giving that order.

"Rosa is none of your concern."

"Of course not mate. I'm just saying, we're both playing the same game here. So why don't we just lay all the cards out on the table. Yea?"

Scudder finally sits down.

"What are you suggesting?"

"Just a civil conversation is all. We've been working together a couple weeks now and I don't think any of us have sat down with you. Felt like it was getting a bit unfriendly is all. Although, it is a bit weird to not be the least liked person in the room. Makes me uncomfortable really."

Scudder don't smile or nothing, but there's some amusement in his eyes. He finally sits down. Digger's been doing this too long to smile. He's got the bastard now.

"They do undervalue you don't they?"

Scudder's not as good at this as he thinks he is. Which is throwing up some red flags in Digger's mind. Though he don't know what they mean yet.

"Hardly the worst job I've had. Hell, none of these bastards have tried to kill me in well over a year. That's a new record for me and work associates."

Scudder takes the offered moonshine. He sniffs it, but doesn't drink.

"You can't actually like this."

Digger doesn't think Sammy's talking about the drink.

"Gets the job done. Don't need much else."

"I can think of literally hundreds of other options."

"Oh yea?"

The man actually takes a drink. Digger's surprised for the first time. Didn't think someone as posh as Scudder would actually give it a try.

"Hm. That's not bad."

"Told you so mate."

Scudder stares at it for a moment. He's just holding the glass in his hands, real close like.

"After we broke out of prison, Rosa and I went to a diner in Metropolis. They had apple pie that tasted just like this…"

He takes another swig.

Huh.

Scudder really was just talking about the liquor. He wasn't trying to imply anything, wasn't trying his hand at double speak to get Digger to confess something. Which means he don't have the wherewithal to be setting up big plans or be on the same kind of level with Luthor.

Then why the hell are they still here? Why hasn't he and Dillon made a break for it? Should have done it the first night. After their attempt at grabbing Snart went sideways. Should have just turned and run for it. They don't gain nothing by sticking around here. Now that the cops know they're with the Rogues, it's only going to be harder for them.

"It was our anniversary."

"Mazel Tov."

Scudder looks up. Seemingly remembering what he's supposed to be doing. Supposed to be figuring out Digger's game, supposed to keep his guard up.

Keeping the mask up, all the time, is a hard thing. Not everyone can do it. Most can't do it for more than a couple weeks. Sometimes…you just want to let it slip for a minute.

Just to see if there's still anything underneath.

"She tried to bake me an apple pie on our first anniversary and she set the safe house on fire. So we went out for apple pie every year afterwards."

Digger's trying to pretend like he's interested in this. Keeps nodding his head. Trying to keep the number of inappropriate comments to a minimum. He didn't even make a joke about his girlie's pie.

Scudder's heading towards something. Don't know what it is, but there's something gnawing at his mind. Something he ain't going to be able to keep to himself if Digger just keeps stringing him along.

Everybody wants to tell their story. Was something an old CO told him. People got things in their heads, gotta get out one way or another.

"Should have headed for somewhere sunny."

"We did. We made it to Panama, figured we could blend in with all the other ex-pats. No one was looking for us. At least, not as much as they were all of you."

Digger knows that feeling. When you've made it away clean. When there's nothing stopping you from just disappearing into the night. Was some twisted sense of loyalty that kept him tethered to ARGUS for as long as he was. Something else that keeps him with the Rogues. Don't quite know the word for what that is though.

Maybe he does.

But this is about Sammy. About why the man looks like he ain't got a friend in the world.

Like he's regretting ever even thinking about coming back.

Digger knows that look too.

Lots of bad choices put Digger in situations like Scudder's found himself in. Surrounded by enemies. No one to confide in. No end in sight. Can't tell his little girl his doubts, not when he's supposed to be the big protector. The one keeping it all together.

Can't be as simple as stubbornness keeping him here.

Digger reaches over and slaps Scudder on the arm, trying to shake the man out of this funk. The man looks up startled.

Digger tries to make his smile comforting. Probably don't work by Scudders continued incredulous look.

Yea, optimism isn't really Digger's thing. Still. Gotta give the man something. The illusion of good days to come. Not that Scudder and Dillon got many left. Snart ain't exactly the forgive and forget type.

Gonna be a bad day when he's got to slit Scudder's throat.

Digger's almost a little sad it's gotta be like that. But orders are orders and all that nonsense. Maybe he'll ask Mick to kill Scudder when this is done. Feel a little wrong to do it now that they've bonded like this.

"Sounds like you guys got away clean. Seems like a shitty idea to come after Cold for something as stupid as revenge."

Scudder looks directly at Digger for a moment.

"It was Rosa's idea. Said if we gave them Snart, then maybe the cops would lay off. At least stop some of the witch hunts, keep the cops from focusing on us. The trial of the Rogues would be all anyone would care about. Not a couple of escaped meta humans."

"So it was the skirt's idea eh? Don't sound like you are too thrilled about it. Could be laying on a beach somewhere, drinking little umbrella drinks, 'stead of being holed up here with us assholes."

Scudder looked a little put out by that. Don't know why. He's the one that agreed to do it. He had to have been in on the planning stages of it all.

"It was Rosa's idea."

"You said that already mate. I've met blokes who've done some stupid things for some tail but I gotta say, this might be the top. Getting mixed up in an international conspiracy with a bunch of labeled terrorists. If there was an award for working the hardest for it, you'd win for sure."

Sammy's looking down at his hands. Got a real weird look on his face.

"I didn't want to do this."

"Seems like you was all gung-ho about it not too long ago."

Man rubs his temples, like he's got a migraine coming on or something.

"I…I just wanted to run. To get out while we could…but…"

"But then you realized that we would be safer if there wasn't a witch hunt going on for us." Girl's silent when she walks in. Creepy little trait she's got.

Scudder stops rubbing his temples, glances over at her like she's the bloody sun or something. Smiling a little bit.

"Exactly."

Digger had seen men in love before. The stupid ass things they did, the way they would just agree to anything the girlie said.

Digger wasn't so sure that's what he was seeing now.

Something not quite right going on between those two. Something real twisted up about it. Can't quite put his finger on it.

Scudder's looking at Digger again. No sign of any conflict in him now.

"Thanks for the drink Harkness."

"Any time Sammy."

The girl gives him an odd look at the nickname. More like a glare really. Not like he's flirting with her man or anything. Women can get weirdly possessive.

The two of them walk out of the room without another word.

Well.

That was something.

Lisa had been right. The two of them was playing at a different game than the rest of them. He's not real sure what it is though. Sammy will be the key to figuring it out. Not Rosa like the Snarts thought. She's got the act down pretty good. Pretending to be just the little girlfriend of the big bad meta human. Pretending like he calls all the shots. It's all real convincing.

Good thing Digger Harkness has never trusted a pretty face a day in his life.

She's the one driving all this. She pushed Scudder to come after the Rogues in the first place. Gets the feeling he should have started the interrogations with her.

Original thought was to go after Scudder first, then confirm something against Dillon since she would be easier to break. Easier to get information out of.

Now he's thinking they got that bit backwards.

Digger finishes what's left of the moonshine then leans back.

When he had been working for the Wall, as much as he hated the bitch, he had to admit the woman knew how to get the truth out of people. It had been a delight to watch.

And he had picked up a few tricks when she started to use those techniques on him.

He'd keep an eye on them, see what else he could get Scudder to tell him. Have to buddy up to the guy a little more. Didn't seem like Scudder was into all this mission nonsense.

Question was, why was she?

What did she get out of hanging around the Rogues? If she was looking to turn them in she could have done it by now. Not moving around from place to place and fighting against Luthor's goons.

Digger snorted. Could be she was just bored. Or she was getting her revenge against Cold trying to kill them in some kind of twisted way that only made sense to her.

Women were like that, got an idea in their heads and just decided to make a man's life miserable for all eternity.

He'd ask Lisa about it.

They'd be able to figure out what that bitch was up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must have rewritten this chapter five times. I'm still not too happy with it but I needed to get it out so I can move on. The rest are coming along better so hopefully I can get back to posting semi-regularly.


	7. Chapter 7

The thing about shady, unethical, back alley doctors is that they tended to have loose interpretations of the Hippocratic Oath.

And their equipment was dirty.

Which probably linked back into the first problem with them really.

The doctor was shaking slightly, holding a scalpel in front of him like he might be able to do anything to the assembled Rogues that surrounded him.

"He's a bit jumpy isn't he? You sure about this guy, boss man?" Digger appeared suddenly behind the doctor, causing him to drop the scalpel and turn with a rather undignified screech. They needed to impress upon the man the seriousness of their presence. But then again, they needed his hands steady.

Hence the reason Roy was here.

"Doctor MacNamara, there's no need to be afraid." Snart lingered near the Doctor's collection of surgery implements. Roy couldn't tell if some were rusted or if it was dried blood flaking off of them.

Snart was going to have to get a large quantity of hepatitis shots after this.

"You…you…I won't…I'm not…I can…"

"You'd think a doctor would be better with words." Digger had taken out one of his boomerangs and was casually sharpening it. Digger's blade was impeccable, light from the overhead fluorescents catching it's shining edges. Roy didn't like to think on the fact that Digger had better hygiene habits than this doctor.

Snart smirked.

"Now, now. I'm sure the doctor is quite eloquent under normal circumstances. Dr. MacNamara, I understand you used to work for LutherCorp."

"I…I don't know anything."

Snart stalked around the doctor like a shark circling his prey.

"Odd, we didn't ask you if you knew anything. I was just making polite conversation. And yet here you are, mounting a defense. Is there something you're trying to hide Doctor?"

"No. I…What…what do you want?"

"Simple. I have a little…annoyance embedded in my spine. You are going to remove it for me."

"I…I can't. I lost my license…"

"Believe me, you were no one's first choice. But we can't exactly walk into an emergency room…well, anywhere in the world without being arrested. So we are here in this…fine establishment, because we need someone with your particular set of skills. Someone who won't have to report this surgery to any pesky medical boards or law enforcement officers. And we understand you might have some familiarity with the technology involved."

Snart pulls out the file containing all the information on the chip. The doctor takes the documents with shaking hands. He hesitantly looked through them. Snart hovered over the man's shoulder, pointing at something on the paper.

"Apparently there is a small defense mechanism. If that piece is damaged during removal, my powers will be triggered and kill everyone in the room. So, let's hope you haven't gotten too rusty."

"I…I've never seen this tech before I don't…"

Lisa emerged from the shadows in the corner of the room and put her gun to the doctor's head.

"So you're saying you're useless."

"No! No…I…I can deactivate it. And remove it. But it's a complicated surgery. It can take…"

"Take as long as you need. We aren't going anywhere."

The doctor keeps one eye on Lisa's gun, then gives a slow nod. He wanders over to his tools, reading the paper Snart handed him. Lisa followed the man, stealing his phone out of his pocket when he wasn't looking. Not that it would have done any good. Axel had already set up a cell signal blocker on the entire floor. But it didn't hurt to be cautious.

Digger kept his voice low, making sure the doctor couldn't hear him.

"Don't know if it was a good idea to leave Scudder and Dillon alone."

"Mick and the others will be watching them. We couldn't all be here." Snart was glaring at where Lisa was standing. Clearly unhappy that he hadn't been able to convince his sister to stay away.

She had been adamant on being here. It had been one of the loudest arguments Roy could remember the two having. He had even noticed it while painting. Eventually Snart had caved, primarily due to the fact that Lisa would have come regardless of what he decided.

Digger nods to the doctor.

"Should let me go first."

"No. I need you at your best, in case anything goes wrong." In case Snart's powers are triggered. In case the doctor can't shut him down. In case Digger has to.

Snart's giving Digger a look. Digger looks away slightly for moment. Then nods.

"Won't let you down boss."

Digger rubs the back of his neck where his own implanted bomb was located. Axel had assured them that Digger's implant was completely fried. No way anyone could use it to kill him, or to track them. Not even Hartley.

Still, Snart wasn't going to leave anything to chance. Once his implant was removed, they were going to make the doctor remove Digger's as well. It wouldn't be as difficult as Snart's surgery, and Roy and Lisa would be watching everything.

The rest of the Rogues were waiting in the Mirror Verse.

Axel was monitoring everything. Looking for any sign that anyone had found them. The boy's constant chatter had died since entering the doctor's office through the nearby window. An attempt to keep communications to a minimum to avoid any sort of detection. They couldn't take any chances while Snart was unconscious. Couldn't risk someone would bust in at the wrong moment and set off his chip.

Mick, Shawna, and Mark were on standby as well. Ready to join and fight, in case the doctor had a silent alarm, Luthor was able to track their powers or communications, or if as was so frequently the case, they just got unlucky.

Kid Flash was in the area too. Well, close enough that he could run there at super speed within a few minutes to get to them. But that was a last ditch resort. One that both of the Snarts were adamantly against.

Aside from the obvious Mardon issue, they didn't want anyone knowing they were working with the Wests if they could help it. Wanted to keep that card up their sleeves in case all of the Rogues got taken. The Kid still had a relatively good reputation in the eyes of the public. They would need that if they were going to get anyone to believe their story.

"What's the verdict sis?"

"The doctor is making some very concerned noises. I wonder if he will be able to perform under all the pressure."

"I…I can do this but…it's complicated and…"

"And?"

"There's so many things that can go wrong. And I've never seen this chip before, if the specs are off by even a little bit, it will go off and kill all of us."

"Sounds like you've got quite the job ahead of you. But don't worry Roy here is here to assist you."

"He doesn't look like a nurse."

Digger snorted.

"Don't." Roy managed to say as Digger was opening his mouth to make a no doubt inappropriate comment.

The mercenary put up his hands.

"I wasn't going to say nothing."

"Mhmm."

"Of course Doctor, I understand the pressure may be a bit much for you. So Roy's just going to make sure you stay calm."

"I…" The doctor opened and closed his mouth a few times, then finally decided on just turning around and rereading the data again.

"Well then, guess I'd better get ready. This good, Doc?" Snart points at the only gurney in the room then lays down without waiting for a response.

"This is a major surgery, you should…"

"I didn't eat or drink anything for the past 12 hours, we are good to go."

"No I mean, I mean that's good, but there should be at least another two or three sets of hands here to aid me and…"

"Seems like you have that many people in the room right now." The doctor glances at Lisa and Digger. Digger smirks.

"Don't worry Doc, I'm very precise." Digger continues to sharpen the edge of his blade, it appears to glint off of the doctor's eyes.

The doctor's hands start shaking again.

Lisa rolls her eyes.

"You tell us what you need and we will do it. We've all got experience sewing up bullet wounds and…"

"This isn't some, bullet wound or broken bone! This is a complicated surgery, one wrong move and your brother will never walk again, you don't understand how…"

"Roy."

Roy catches the Doctor's eyes. They flash a light blue.

The man instantly stops ranting.

"What was that Doc?"

"I've got everything I need here." The doctor grabs anesthesia and places it over Snart's face. "Count back from 100. I will go wash up."

Digger follows the doctor as he goes to wash his hands.

Lisa walks over to her brother, she glances at Roy out of the corner of her eye. Roy turns and pretends to be fascinated by the Doctor's degrees on the wall.

"You're supposed to be counting."

"Don't think it matters."

"Don't you dare die again jerk."

"Wouldn't dreammm….offff…."

Roy turned back, Snart was unconscious.

"How long can you hold the Doctor?"

Roy's powers hadn't given him any problems recently. He had been testing them whenever they had the chance. Holding them longer and longer. He wanted to believe he was back to full strength.

Still. He hadn't used them for hours like might be necessary here. He couldn't be entirely sure they wouldn't just…fail in the middle of it.

"I'll hold him for as long as it takes."

His eyes would start bleeding before he let go of the doctor.

The doctor and Digger re-entered the room. The man was wearing scrubs and gloves.

"Let's begin shall we."

Roy didn't have as much of an aversion to blood as he used to. He'd seen a good deal of death over the past few years. Yet he felt a sudden nausea when the doctor started cutting around Snart's spine.

The collar had finally been removed. And Roy could see the places where small cuts and rashes had formed. Places that showed just how long Snart had gone without removing it.

If they had more time, they would have stolen a portable anti-meta device. Something that would have protected them if Snart's powers went off during surgery.

But they hadn't had the time to plan such a heist. And the Wests hadn't been able to get one for them. It would have looked too suspicious. Apparently Luthor and the cops were hesitant to let any meta get their hands on one, even Baby Flash.

Didn't want to run the risk that anyone could develop a way to counter the devices.

"Any Luthor Tech will have tracking devices in them, we might not be able to counter quickly enough. No, it's not worth the risk. We will just have to hope the good Doctor is as capable as he used to be. Radio silence unless it's an emergency."

Roy sincerely hoped Cold's final order to the fully assembled Rogues wouldn't be his last.

Roy leaned against a nearby table as Lisa and Digger handed the doctor all of the instruments he asked for.

"There it is."

Roy craned his neck slightly, he could see the small device embedded in Snart's spine.

The doctor made a few more cuts, using tools so small, Roy wasn't sure how the man could even tell what he was doing.

Roy saw the hands of the clock in the corner moving. Slowly and yet somehow too fast. It had already been close to three hours since Snart had gone under.

"How you holding up Roy?"

Roy turned at Lisa's question. The doctor was still under his power, but Roy was starting to feel…something in his eyes.

"Fine."

Digger snorted.

"All this time and you're still a shit liar Roy."

Lisa turned back to the doctor.

"How much longer?"

"I've almost finished removing all of the wires from…oh dear. I may have just triggered something."

That might be the calmest anyone has ever been about potentially killing everyone in the room.

"Fix it."

"It will be fine. I will just take my time and…"

A small light on the device was suddenly blinking quicker and quicker.

Lisa grabs the doctor's hands and pulls them away from her brother.

"Roy release him."

"Are you…"

"The man needs more motivation."

Roy releases the doctor from his powers. Suddenly the man is looking panicked.

"The failsafe, we have to…"

"Remove the chip now."

"You don't understand, there's no time! We have to…"

"We aren't going anywhere, and neither are you. So if you want to live to see tomorrow, I suggest you get to work. Quickly."

The doctor looked around the room. None of the Rogues so much as flinched.

"Ok. Ok, ok. Ok. There…there should be a…"

The doctor put his scalpel back in Snart's neck. Roy hopes he is imagining the sudden drop in temperature in the room.

The lights are flashing quickly now. And Roy can see icicles forming on Snart's hands.

"Got it, got it, got it!"

The doctor pulls the chip out and holds it up in his tweezers. The ice on Snart starts to dissipate.

Roy lets out a breath. He wasn't sure the doctor was going to be able to inactivate it before they all died.

"What...uhh, what do you want me to do with it?"

Lisa opens up a little box, and the doctor places the chip inside. Digger smacks the man on the back, causing the doctor to almost fall over.

"Good work Doc. Just sew him up and you'll have one more little thing to do."

"Wait, what? I…"

Lisa's gun is under the man's chin again.

"You're doing so well Doc, don't disappoint a girl now."

Digger smirks at the man.

"The lady does hate to be disappointed."

The doctor finishes sewing up Snart and then moves the gurney off to the side. Roy can see the way the man is glancing towards the door. Trying to decide if he can just make a run for it.

Digger puts an arm around the doctor, a smile on his face.

"Come on doc, you're doing so good. Don't be stupid now. Should just be right there." Digger had pulled the doctor over towards a chair and plopped himself down into it. His hand still firmly only the doctor's bicep. Digger was pointing at where his own chip was located.

"You should be unconscious."

"Nah." Digger pulls a flask out of his jacket. "Brought my own anesthesia." He takes a deep swig. "What you waiting for man?"

Roy keeps an eye on the doctor while he removes Digger's chip. He sees Lisa out of the corner of his eye. She's rubbing her hand softly over her brother's head.

Digger's surgery takes much less time. Though still longer than Roy would like. He's starting to get antsy about staying in this place for so long. There's something niggling at the back of his mind. Something he can't quite figure out. It's only been getting worse as the time went on.

The doctor hands the chip to Digger. The mercenary drops it on the ground and smashes it under his foot.

"Well, I think that's enough fun for one day, don't you love?"

Lisa glances over at the two of them. Snart is starting to stir, Roy can see the man attempting to open his eyes.

Lisa nods at Roy.

"Digger, come help me move Len. Roy, let's get out of here."

Roy breathes a sigh of relief. He just wants to get back to the others. Take the chip and finish all this bullshit with Luthor.

Roy touches the nearby window. Nothing happens.

"Lisa."

Lisa turns away from Digger and Snart. Snart is attempting to stand on his own. Thought it's clear he is relying completely on Digger.

She takes one look at Roy's hand, at the immobile reflective surface. She touches her ear piece.

"Axel. Axel? Mick? Can anyone read me? Shit. Alright, Digger get Lenny up. Roy."

Roy nods and pulls the gun out of his jacket. The doctor is looking at them all, the fear and panic back in his eyes.

"I didn't do anything I swear. I…"

Lisa pistol whips the guy with her gold gun. He crumples to the ground.

"Not now Doc. I'll take lead, Roy bring up the rear. Digger…"

"Safe as houses love." Digger has his arm around Snart, keeping the semi-conscious man standing. One of his razor sharp boomerangs in the other.

Lisa gives him an odd look, but nods.

They move slowly. Waiting for the inevitable confrontation. Waiting for the cops or Luthor's robots to attack at any moment.

Roy's powers are almost maxed out, so he doesn't know when the anti-meta device must have gone up. How long had they been out of contact with Axel and the Mirror Verse? The others would surely have moved to a different location and would be storming in. Just like they did in Opal when they got caught off guard.

They make it to the front door. Lisa hesitates for a moment, looking through a small crack in the door.

"It looks clear, but get ready."

She opens the door.

There's no one out there. No sirens, no helicopters, no cops. It's just a quiet street in the middle of the night.

Figures step out of the shadows across the street. Lisa raises her gun, ready to fire at any enemy that attempts to come for them.

Scudder and Dillon step into the street light.

"What the hell are they doing?" Lisa almost hisses. She's about to head towards them when Digger reaches forward and grabs her arm. She looks back at him, glaring at him for taking his focus off of her brother.

"It's a…" Digger doesn't get the chance to finish his sentence before more figures emerge from the shadows.

Mick, Shawna, and Mark walk into the light.

For a moment, Roy thinks that the others will grab the two newcomers, drag them away and make damn sure no one saw them. That they are there as back up, to fight against some threat that Roy just hasn't spotted yet.

Instead, Mick walks past Scudder and Dillon, and stands directly in the middle of the street. There's a defiance to his stance that Roy has only ever seen aimed at cops. Mardon appears to be playing with lightening in his hands. They are ready to fight. But Roy can't see any other threats.

There's no one out here but the Rogues.

It's almost three am, everything around them is deserted. There are no sounds of cars, no people looking out their windows. And yet, Roy can't help but feel as if they are all under a spotlight. As if the world is watching what is happening here.

"Mick…what the hell are you doing?" Snart is still groggy, he was barely coherent a few minutes ago. Yet he manages to push himself out of Digger's grip and walk towards Mick.

They stand in the middle of the street, two groups of Rogues standing behind each of them. Mick glances at Snart, there's anger on his face.

Fury.

"Hand over the chip."

"What the hell are you talking about Mick?"

"Scudder made a deal with Luthor. Give him the chip, he stops the witch hunts. Says we all died in some big police shoot out."

"You can't honestly think that Luthor will hold up his end of that deal."

"Can't be any worse than what you got us into."

"Mick, listen to me. You know I…"

"I'm sick of listening to you Snart. Tired of following your orders, of being the one who gets tossed aside when things go sideways."

Mick lifts up his hands, his gauntlets were now pointing directly at Snart. Fire was swirling around his arms.

Roy glances over at Digger and Lisa. Lisa is looking completely shocked. Digger…Digger looks like he just figured something out.

Roy looks at Shawna and Mark. He can't believe they are going along with…with whatever this is.

Mark steps up beside Mick.

"You heard him Snart."

"You're not really trying to take control of the Rogues again are you Mardon? Because that didn't work out so well for you last time." Snart appeared to be fully awake now. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Roy can see frost forming on Snart's skin.

"Ain't about that. It's about the shit you've got us into. The bullshit we put up with, and you just tell us to sit back and take orders like good little dogs. We're not your sidekicks Snart. We shouldn't have to listen to your every order. Should be able to do what we want, when we want."

Roy knew Mardon had been extra tense lately, but Roy had assumed it had to do with being so close to the Wests. Not being able to get the revenge he so desperately craved. This…this seemed like he was blaming Snart. Like somehow the man was responsible for everything that had ever happened to them.

Shawna wasn't looking at Roy when she stepped next to the others. Roy kept waiting for her to just disappear and reappear next to him and the other Rogues on Snart's side.

Why the hell were there even sides?

"Shawna."

"I'm not going back Snart, not going to end up trapped in some room again because you want to play games. You think we were just going to keep following you? This is all your fault! We have a way out, Scudder and Dillon have made sure of that. Roy…please, join us. We don't have to do this anymore."

Roy couldn't explain the feeling in his chest. The way his heart was pounding. The way Shawna was looking at him. So afraid. And yet so…certain.

"You can't honestly think they will protect you the way the Rogues…"

"Protect me? Look at what has happened to us Roy. We're thieves! Not…not terrorists! We never should have been anywhere near Luthor or any of this bullshit. But Snart can't accept that there are people smarter than him. He's the reason we are in this. Lisa, hell even you Digger. You can…"

"You're insane if you think I'm going to side against my brother."

"Don't gotta be like this Lisa."

"Mick. I love you, but I will beat you half to death if that's what it takes to knock some sense into you."

The skies above them start to darken. The sound of thunder drowning out all other noise. Mardon is glaring at Roy.

The sudden viciousness of it all, the ridiculous decision to split now, when they were so close to having the leverage they needed against Luthor. Why now?

"You should have let me kill them. I told you not to get in my way again…" Roy takes an involuntary step back.

Scudder steps forward. A pleased smile on his face.

"What's it going to be Snart? Turn yourself into Luthor. Give him that little chip you pulled out of your neck and the rest of your family can go free. That's the deal. We all get to live, hell even your sister if she can learn to keep her mouth shut. But you Snart…and anyone who goes against us…well…."

Snart is glaring at Scudder.

"I should have put a bullet in you when I had the chance."

"Yes, you should have. But that opportunity has passed. What's it going to be Snart? How many Rogues are going to die today? You really want to go to war against your own family?"

Roy remembers the way Snart and Mick used to practice with their weapons. The way they would hit the targets with heat and then cold, or cold then heat. Timing it so their weapons never directly crossed streams. Didn't cause more damage than was necessary. Both of them instinctually avoiding the other.

Snart glances back towards the Rogues on his side. Lisa's gun was out and pointed at Scudder. Digger's right arm cocked backwards, ready to attack at any moment. Roy points his gun at Mardon. Well, at Mardon's leg.

He wouldn't kill another Rogue. But he sure as shit didn't intend to get electrocuted just because Mark was feeling like a dick.

Snart turns back to Mick.

"Well, if you're out…"

Mick fires a burst of flame directly at Snart.

Snart manages to put his hands up, a wall of ice forming in front of them. Closing them off from the others.

"Lisa…"

Snart doesn't get a chance to give orders, no time to even begin to explain how they are going to fight back.

A bolt of lightning strikes the ice wall, shattering it. Shards of ice pelt them, Roy feels one slice his cheek. Roy stumbles backwards from the force of it. He barely has enough time to look up before another attack is coming.

Harkness grabs the back of Roy's jacket and pulls him out of the way of a burst of flames. They duck into a nearby alley, the Snarts just ahead of them. They take cover behind a dumpster.

"We're a little outgunned here boss." Roy and Snart have powers, but Lisa, Digger, and Axel don't….that's assuming Axel is still on their side. He hasn't heard the kid in his ear since they went into the Doctor's office. Axel could be with the others now.

Not to mention that Roy's powers were overtaxed from keeping the doctor calm. He might be able to use them for more than a few minutes.

If he was lucky.

Roy feels a hand in his jacket and looks to see Digger grabbing the mirror out of his pocket. He throws it back towards the rest of the Rogues. Roy sees Lisa do the same.

Lisa looks over and yells to Digger over the increasing wind.

"Scatter them!"

Digger throws an explosive boomerang into the middle of the Rogues. It embeds into a lamp post. The others all recognize the distinctive beeping and scatter. If this had been any other fight, Digger would have thrown it into one of the people. He wouldn't have missed his target.

Shawna disappeared, but he can't see if she reappeared.

The wind is picking up. Heavy rain starts to fall.

There was nowhere they could escape to, Scudder could grab them from any reflective surface. Hell, Mardon keeps the rain up and Scudder can use the puddles on the ground.

Digger throws a few more boomerangs, knocking out the remaining lights on the street. At least the rain clouds are blocking out the moon so the others can't get a clear visual on them.

Mick sets three cars on fire. The entire street lights up.

So much for that plan.

Roy can see the ice forming around Snarts hands. No doubt the man realizing the more he uses, the more surfaces he is giving Scudder.

"Roy!"

Roy turns at Lisa's shout, but barely has time to turn before he feels the familiar sensation of being teleported.

He's on top of a building. Shawna is gripping his jacket.

He can't help but notice he is dangerously close to the edge.

"Shawna…"

"Roy. Listen to me…"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Look, just stay up here ok? I'll go take out the Snarts and Digger. Then you can come with us. I'll tell them you were just pretending to…"

"Shawna listen to yourself. You sound crazy."

"I sound crazy? Listen to yourself Roy. Defending every plan Snart has? Going wherever he tells us to go, even if it means we end up in deeper shit. My eyes are open for the first time in years Roy. It was just like with Clay. We were blinded by all the flash and money of it all. We didn't see what a piece of shit…"

A lightning bolt crashes into the street below. Roy can just make out Mardon flying up into the air. Using the height to keep an eye on anyone below. The wind is swirling around him. The man was going to summon a tornado in the middle of the street.

"Shawna look at this. Mardon is going to kill everyone down there. Not just the Rogues. Luthor will…"

"You don't understand. You're still blinded. This is what Snart has done to us. Made us into. This isn't who we are Roy."

Roy was focused on the scene below him. Focused on watching Digger try to tackle Mick, only for Scudder to toss him through a car window and come crashing out of a nearby storefront. On Lisa shooting at Dillon and Dillon throwing her razor wire tops at Lisa. At Lisa diving out of the way just seconds before one wrapped around her legs.

On Snart shooting ice into the air in an attempt to knock Mardon out of the sky.

"I can't go back Roy. I won't."

The wind rushing by his face, the feeling of there suddenly being nothing beneath his feet. It takes his mind a few seconds longer than it should have to come to a sudden conclusion.

Shawna pushed him off a building.

He can't tell if she's still standing there. He's moving too quickly, falling to his death.

Anger. Rage.

It was all he had seen in her eyes the moment before he was suddenly airborne.

He…He hadn't done that. He hadn't used his powers on her. He would never have done that. The fact that she might try to hurt him never even crossed his mind.

Luthor…Luthor must have done something to them somehow. A drug or weapon of some kind. That…that was the only explanation.

Even plummeting to his death, he hopes Shawna is alright.

He feels the oddest sensation of arms wrapping around his chest, and the next second he is crashing through a window.

His body aches, pieces of broken glass stuck in his jacket and in his skin.

Kid Flash is lying beside him. Breathing heavily. He looks over at Roy with concern.

"You all right?"

There's blood coming out of the kid's nose, and he can smell the familiar scent of something burning. Something like leather and skin. Mick must have gotten a lucky shot on the kid when he was running to save Roy.

"Are you?"

Roy gets to his feet, but the kid is struggling. There's something wrong with his ankle. Roy offers him a hand, which the kid takes without much deliberation.

"I feel like I missed something really important, man."

"The Rogues are…something's happened to them. Half the team turned on us."

There's no way that Shawna would do that to him. He didn't…he couldn't believe it. She was being controlled somehow.

"What like mind control or something? Great! So much for getting the chip without any problems. Iris is going to kill me."

"You're the one came running in alone."

"Yea. About that…"

The kid touches his ear. Someone is talking to him.

"Please tell me you brought back up."

"Something like that. Look we don't have a lot of time. All the police scanners are lighting up. There's going to be people here in like two minutes. Luthor's people might be here in less. We need to get everyone out of here before anyone gets hurt. Then figure out how to fix whatever BS is happening to your guys."

Roy helps Kid Flash down two flights of stairs. Two more flights and Roy would have been a pancake on the ground. Roy tries to focus on helping the kid walk. He can't help Shawna if he's panicking about almost dying. The kid can't move too well on his ankle, but it's getting better as they go. Superhuman healing must be nice.

Couple more years of getting knocked around like this and Roy is going to end up spending his golden years in traction.

Wally's arm is over Roy's shoulder, and Roy doesn't have a weapon on him. He doesn't know when he lost the gun. He knows he never pointed it at Shawna. Never even crossed his mind to do that. He must have dropped it when he…fell off the building.

An explosion of pink dust near him almost causes him to pull Kid Flash back inside the building.

Axel is looking at them, another glitter bomb in his hand.

"Are you guys pod people? You have to tell me."

"Why would we have to tell you?"

"Look man, those are just the rules alright? I was like listening on the radio and all of sudden everything just goes completely sideways I mean. WTF man? Seriously, what is happening? Because if aliens are turning people into total dick wads then I feel like…"

"It isn't aliens. It's just inevitability."

There's a familiarity to that tone, the hints of disdain and superiority. Roy didn't realize he had missed it so much.

"Hartley. Where are the other Rogues, what's happening?" Kid Flash took a step towards Hartley, away from Roy.

Hartley is glaring at Roy. His arms up, ready to attack if either Roy or Axel make a move.

"You mean the assholes that are currently trying to kill one another?"

A loud explosion follows Hartley's words, the sound of crackling lightning.

"Let's get out of here Kid Flash." Hartley brushes Roy aside, barely glancing at him. Putting himself in the position that Roy was occupying only moments ago.

"We can't just leave them."

"They've turned on each other. Just like I always knew they would. People like that always do, too greedy or…"

"What is your problem bro? Something has got everyone's minds all twisted up and you're being a real a-hole about it."

"You can't possibly be that naïve Axel. The Rogues are using you, the same way they used me. Mick just tried to kill you."

Roy can see the burns on Axel's leather jacket now. Smattering of blood staining the clothes beneath.

"Ok, so maybe Mick's had a bad day alright but like there's no way the Rogues…" Hartley almost pushes Kid Flash in his effort to get into Axel's face.

"When are you going to wake up? It's all a lie Axel! They don't care about you. They never cared about you. They will kill you and never think twice about it. You fell for it the same way you fell for all that bullshit that Jesse fed you. They aren't your family, just like Jesse wasn't your family. You don't have a family!"

Hartley was basically screaming by the time he finished his tirade. Axel and Roy, even Kid Flash, stood in stunned silence for a moment.

Axel put up a hand.

"Whoa dude. You got some real issues you need to work through. I know like a dozen shrinks. They didn't help me but like, maybe think about it bro."

Axel turns towards Roy.

"I heard some of what was going on over the comms. Like WTF man? I mean, I know Mick's a hothead and all but seriously? And yea Mardon is always like two seconds away from murder so I totally see that. But Shawna's like…well maybe not levelheaded but she's not going around trying to murder people all day.

"Shawna…tried to kill me."

Axel legitimately does a double take. If the boy had been drinking water, Roy was certain he would have done a spit take as well. The kid makes a show of closing his open mouth with his hand.

"You see this man, this is me literally picking my jaw up off the floor. Like, no more proof needed. It's def mind control or aliens. Maybe clones again, I mean I know we already did clones but like we could be in sequel territory right now you know? Shawna? She'd like never try to kill you man, you two are basically going steady at this point. I was going to make you a letterman jacket to give to her. It was going to be rainbow colored. Maybe a promise ring too."

"Are we dating in the 1950s?"

"Ha! Finally, so you are dating!"

"I feel like we have more important things to worry about."

"No man, like you don't even know. I figured I would be dead of old age before anything like legit happened. Tell me everything, I want to make a tribute video from clips and random photos I have taken of you guys. Most of them are from when you are awake so it's not creepy or anything. It's going to be legit, what do you think your song is, cause I was thinking…"

"She just tried to drop me off a building."

"Which you can now bring up anytime you guys have an argument. 'Roy sweetie, it's your turn to take out the garbage.' 'Well Shawna that reminds me of that time you dropped me off a building.' Boom! Instant argument winner. You're set for life bro."

"We have to save them first."

"Right! Alright Step 1 find whatever mind control…"

"You can't actually believe they are being mind controlled. There has always been underlying tension between Snart and Mick. And Mardon has wanted to kill anyone with the last name West since his brother died. Every single person on that team has tried to kill each other at one point or another. You weren't there in the beginning Axel. You don't know the resentments these people carry for one another."

"Well, what about Shawna, Mr. Smarty Pants? Like look me in the eyes and tell me you think Shawna would try to kill Roy."

Hartley almost looks confused for a moment, the face he usually gets when presented with a problem he doesn't immediately know the answer to. Then his face hardens.

"Roy isn't who you think he is."

Damn it. They don't have time for this.

"Hartley, I know you won't believe me, but…"

Roy sees the drone come into the alley. He doesn't even think it through. He just dives forward and pushes Hartley as hard as he can.

The drone shoots a laser directly into Roy's shoulder. The shock of pain pushes him back against the wall. He is dimly aware of Axel throwing one of his sticky bombs at the drone. The whole thing covered in some kind of chewing gum like substance, causing it to fall to the ground.

More drones, means more cameras. Luthor's people were here. They were out of time.

Damn it. They couldn't get caught now.

Not all of them anyway.

Kid Flash is by Roy's side, checking his shoulder.

"Laser cauterized the wound. Pretty bad burn though…"

"Can you run?"

"What? Nah man, maybe a quick dash or something but…"

"Axel, we can't all get caught. The back up plans..."

"Dude. No way. Those rescue plans are the worst. I mean I know Snart was like this is the best plan ever because I'm a total genius and whatever, but like half the team has gone cray man."

"Axel..."

"I hate this."

"I know. Get out of here."

"Whoa wait what? I thought…"

"Might be that we didn't tell you everything either."

Axel pulls on Wally's arm.

"We gotta go. You and Hart can't be seen here with us."

"We can't just leave…"

Hartley is staring at him. Roy doesn't have time to think on what the look might mean. He uses the pain in his shoulder to push himself to his feet. He stumbles out of the alley. He can see Scudder standing over Lisa. Roy bends over and picks up a broken bottle.

Scudder's back is turned to him.

Roy moves as quickly as possible.

He swings the jagged edges at Scudder's back. The man turns just moments before Roy can plunge the glass into the man's heart. He cuts the man's sleeve.

Scudder looks pissed.

"You little…."

Roy realizes his mistake a moment too late.

A glass bottle.

He feels himself get pulled into the Mirror Verse. This time, he does pass out.

* * *

Axel had developed the best drink ever when he was younger. Back when he was naïve and didn't understand how adding alcohol made everything instantly better.

He had called it Mountain Doom. Which he totally invented and didn't steal from the internet. He did it first. Everyone else just copied him. But it was literally one of the best ideas he had ever come up with.

You buy every color of Mountain Dew. Pour them all together. Then bask in the amazing sugar filled rush of amazing.

No one else had appreciated his genius. But wasn't that true of all geniuses ahead of their times? Nikola Tesla probably had to…

"Axel!"

Hartley was being real bossy about all this. Guy wasn't even a Rogue any more. He didn't get to tell Axel what to do.

I mean sure, ok, he was currently keeping them from getting spotted by Luthor's drones by using his soundwaves to mess with their tracking systems or whatever. But Axel totally could have done that.

If he hadn't accidentally left his tablet in the Mirror Verse.

But that wasn't his fault! He got distracted by all the sudden mayhem! Like he was totally normally up on all this stuff. Wasn't everyday your whole team just decided to up and murder each other. Plus he had barely made it out of there once he realized what they were all doing.

He'd been minding his own business. Watching all the security systems and whatnots. Maybe playing a little Minecraft on the side, but like he can multitask. So it was hardly his fault he didn't notice the little sneaky group of sneaks.

Til they were all like standing around him. Mick was giving him his mean glare. Or you know, just his normal resting face. Not the man's fault he had a severe case of Resting Murder Face.

"Axel."

"So far so good. I mean, Snart's still under so…"

"Need to talk."

"Dude, I keep telling you, it is one hundred percent not me stealing the little yogurts you like out of the fridge. Now if they were Gogurts I would be all up ons those because they come in sweet colors but like yours are like strawberry and peach and lame. I need my extreme…"

"Know you're loyal to Snart."

"Um duh. We're Rogues."

"Being a Rogue and being loyal to Snart don't gotta be the same thing."

"What are you…?"

Ok, so maybe he should have notice they were all like creepily standing around him. But again, not his fault. They were all major lurkers all the time anyway. Scudder comes over and puts a hand on Mick's shoulder.

It was like a million alarm bells went off in Axel's head. Like weeewooo weeewooo nuclear reactor meltdown alarms.

Nobody touches Mick.

"Mick is trying to say that some changes are coming. And we just want to be sure you are aware of all of your options."

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Righty O guvnor." Ouch. Ok so hopefully no one noticed that little slip. Normally his accents are flawless.

"You'll stay in here, while…we take care of some things. Give you some time to think all this through.

"Sure. Sure sure sure sure. Got it. No problem." Mardon then like grabbed Axel's earpiece out. Which, first of all, gross. Who knows where that dudes hands have been.

Pod people was still Axel's best guess. I mean…

"Axel!"

Hartley's whisper yelling was kind of impressive.

The three of them duck behind a wall. A couple of drones flew by. Didn't look like they were spotted. They just had to stay hidden a little longer and then Baby Flash could run them out of here. Silence was like, not normally his thing, but he was trying to at least keep a little bit of a low profile.

Hartley was the one making all the noise.

"Why the hell did he do that?"

"Who knows? I mean, Mick's been acting real weird lately. Like more weird than normal, and I still think my clone theory…"

"Not Mick. Roy."

"What? Roy's not with the other guys. He's on our side."

"I meant pushing me out of the way. Why did he do that?"

"What, seriously? Like super serious face right now?"

Hartley was glaring at him. Dang. He was being serious.

"Cause you guys are bros!"

Duh.

I mean, seriously.

"Roy turned on me, just as quickly as the rest of you."

"What? When?"

"Axel, you can't seriously…"

Baby Flash had been walking a little better now. His ankle all not gross and sideways anymore.

"Can we talk about this later guys, we…"

A drone appears in front of them. Axel reaches for one of his sticky bombs.

A boomerang knocks it out of the air. Digger couldn't have been more than a couple feet from them. None of them had even seen the dude doing his super spy ninja shit.

Which he refused to teach Axel how to do. Which was super rude. Ok so maybe one time Digger had tried to show him how to like hide in the shadows and stuff, but it had been so boring and like maybe he had started playing a game on his phone. But that didn't count.

Digger looks like shit.

"You look like shit Boomer."

"The Snarts? Roy?"

"Lost sight of the Snarts when all the fighting started. I mean, I'm sure they got away clean you know. Roy…he uh got grabbed by the pod people."

"You're bleeding."

Hartley's voice was monotone but for a second Axel thought he saw him take a step towards Digger.

Digger sort of does this weird laugh cough combo that makes Axel's chest hurt.

"Happens when a shard of glass gets jammed into your chest."

Axel can see the blood running through Digger's fingers, the way he's like holding it all in. He walks over and puts an arm under Digger's shoulders.

"Don't like…spill your guts or anything on me."

"Guts aren't in the chest kid."

"Well, like you know…your lungs or whatever is in that general gross area."

He helps Digger lean against the wall. That's like…a lot of blood.

Oh! Axel reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Hello Kitty band aid. He puts it on Digger's chest. The pink with the little white face kitty cat really stands out against the black of Digger's shirt. And the red staining it.

Digger raises an eyebrow at it but then sort of smirks.

"Thanks kid."

"No problem. I've got like two more."

"Give me the other two when we get safe. We can't go to any safe house that Scudder or Dillon knew about. Or…any that the other Rogues knew about. Which is all of them. There's a decommissioned ARGUS black site only a few towns over." He looks at Baby Flash. "You good?"

"My ankle's almost completely healed. I can get us out of here."

Digger's face was clammy and gross. He didn't care what the mercenary said. He needed at least one more of the band aids right now. Axel puts another one over Digger's wound. The first one was barely holding on from all the blood.

Axel can feel the frown on his face. He whips back around with a smile.

"Sweet. Thanks Baby Flash."

"Axel, we are literally the same age."

"Whatever you say Baby Flash."

He rolls his eyes. But Axel can tell he's not really pissed. Why would he be? He knows he's the baby of the group. I mean it's not like…

The sound of sirens and drones and just general terribleness starts getting a lot louder. He's sure the Snarts made it out. I mean, they wouldn't get caught. Not with Cold having his powers back. They're fine.

They're fine.

"We need to go now."

"Alright. This is going to be a little rough. Everyone hold on tight to…"

Axel pulls out his handcuffs and puts them on his wrist and Digger's. They were the sweet pink fuzzy kind. Of course he added some cool embellishments to them like tiny little skulls and etched some cool runes into the metal chain bits.

"Why do you…you know what, I don't want to know. Just hold on."

Axel had been buzzed around by the Flashes before. But it was still super cool every time. I mean it gives you a major head rush for one thing. And the wind is all like woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooosh.

Which is pretty sweet. And it makes his hair look so like windblown and totally effortless. He wonders if he could talk Baby Flash into like running him around every morning.

ARGUS black sites are such a bummer.

I mean, you're expecting like high tech underground bunkers and like eye scanners and guns coming out of the walls if you don't pass one of their 18 checks.

But then they're just like old farmhouses out in the middle of nowhere or old warehouses.

Or abandoned Kmarts. Ok, so maybe this place has potential. But like all the mannequins and stuff are gone so there's not even that much of a creep factor. If a zombie apocalypse broke out right now, they would totally be able to contain it. There's no isles to trip over. Just a big ass…

"Med kit's in the back under…"

Baby Flash is back with it before Digger even finishes. He can figure why Digger picked this place. ARGUS like covered all the windows in some kind of black paint and even floor is so dirty there's no way Scudder could get a reflection.

They're in some kind of back office room, that was probably some boring manager's office until ARGUS took over.

He bet the manager's name was Steve. This place felt like it belonged to a Steve once. Axel can practically see the motivational posters and pictures of his kids that Steve had all over the place. None of his wife. Widower. It was too painful for Steve.

Digger sits down on the chair and KF starts to help him with the bandages.

Hartley moves over to the only other chair and pulls out a tablet.

"Does Snart or Lisa know about this place?"

"No. Couldn't risk it if they've been taken."

"Man, I'm sure they're like totally fine. No way either of them gets grabbed by the pod people or Luthor's goons."

Axel slides up and leans over Hartley's shoulder. He's hacked into the security cameras and is looking to see where everyone went.

Again, Axel could have totally done that.

"You should…"

"I know what I'm doing Axel."

"I'm just saying Luthor's uses a different coding structure than…"

"I know how to hack Luthor's systems without being detected."

"I know you do man, I'm just saying that if you improve on the code by…"

Hartley stops typing and turns his full attention towards Axel. Man, that dude has got some really pretty eyes.

"It was you."

"What?"

"That attack on my systems last week. The one I thought was Luthor. It was you."

"Whaaat? Psh. Yo, KF I think Hartley has like a concussion or something because he is talking in tongues."

"You talk in tongues when you're possessed."

"Then he's totally possessed. We have a real Ghostbusters situation here. You're Chris Hemsworth in this situation, btw. You're welcome."

"You couldn't get through his 12th layer could you? So sent it to me making it look like an attack, so I would crack it for you."

Ok, so maybe, maybe Axel has used Hartley to bounce some ideas off of without him knowing it. But they had been on a serious time crunch and maybe in this one particular area of cybersecurity Hartley was minorly better in a time situation.

But that was like nothing so…

"You two can bicker over who's the prettiest later. We need to get to Roy."

Axel was actually a little insulted by that.

"Digger come on. You know I'm the prettiest. Look at me. Look at this jaw line."

"The rest of the Rogues…"

"R squared."

"What?"

"The rogue Rogues. R2. We can't just call them the other Rogues that so lame. They're…"

"The point is, Scudder pulled Roy into the Mirror Verse. So we can't track him."

"They'll leave and go to a safe house. Can track them when they get out."

"How do you intend to do that?"

"Slipped a tracker in Roy's pocket during the fight. He's always getting lost."

"That's a good move bro…wait. Did you put one on me?" Axel starts searching through his pockets.

"Interior left of your jacket."

"Whaaat. Dude come on. Ok, so I know you won't teach me any more ninja stuff, but like this is some good slight of hand. You're almost a passable thief now!"

"Thanks kid."

Wally was rubbing his eyes. Dude looked legit tired.

"Can we talk about who's the best thief later? We need to figure out where the Snarts are and if they still have the chip. And we need to rescue Roy…"

"Roy isn't our problem."

"Hartley…"

"What Wally? You don't understand, this is how they get you. They pull you into their madness, make you think you are a part of it and then…"

"Just put the tracker info in your computer so we can…"

"You are not in charge here Harkness."

Digger and Hartley were glaring at each other. Axel assumed the bad blood between them was on Hartley's side. Couldn't figure out why Digger was mad at Piper.

"Aaaaannnnyyyy wayyy. I'll just put that info in if..."

"You can find your own tablet, and your own programs. The chip is the only thing we are concerned with. It's the key to taking down Luthor, which is all I agreed to help with."

"Yea but..."

"Give him the bloody tablet Hartley."

"Why? You all kicked me out of the Rogues. Made yourselves very clear..."

"What, cause Lisa was mourning the death of her brother? That's when you finally decide to take what she says seriously? Girl's always had a temper, you knew that. You're the one that was just looking for an excuse to leave, can't help but think you never wanted to be a Rogue in the first place."

"That is bullshit and you..."

"Guys! I get it, there's weird family stuff happening, but seriously we should probably get to Roy before the pod people start turning him into a Stepford Wife or something."

Hartley opened his mouth but Digger beat him to it.

"You're such a bloody child Hart. Don't even realize how stupid you're being."

"What the hell do you...?"

"You're going to let your friend get tortured or killed just because your feelings are hurt?"

"Roy isn't my friend."

"Bastard might be the only real friend you've ever had."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Digger starts to stand up. KF was standing nearby, had to put a steadying hand on Digger's arm when he sort of wobbled a bit.

Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.

Ok, maybe he needs to focus a little better right now.

"You'll figure it out kid, being a genius and all. But if you don't and something happens to Roy, I won't miss next time. We clear? Axel, let's go. Get you to a computer."

"Umm, yea. Like totes, cause you can for sure make it that far. You definitely won't just fall over into like a big lump after two steps."

Digger was glaring at him now. What? He was telling the truth.

"Hartley can I have a word?"

"Wally."

"Now."

"Baby Flash laying down the law." Geez, alright with everyone glaring at him. "I'll just…"

He walks over and helps Digger sit back down. He pulls out his last Hello Kitty band aid, bends down, and puts it over the white bandages around Digger's chest. Boom. He helped.

Digger's eyes are closed. He's breathing slowly. Focused.

Baby Flash and Hartley are having a whisper argument in the corner. He's trying but he can't really hear…

"It's Dillon."

"What?" Axel gives himself a bit of a head rush standing up, looking around for one of her tops to come flying at him. Which ok, maybe he should have put some shut down codes in those bad boys but how was he supposed to know she would use them against them? I mean, she did all the work herself anyway. She was actually really good with making them. Not as good as him of course but…

"She's the one doing this."

"What? How? I mean sure she like makes people sick and stuff but how could she…"

"Don't know. Just know it's her."

"Ok. Cool, cool cool cool. Add that to the pile of shit that makes absolutely no sense about today."

Hartley and KF walk over a few seconds later. Wally's giving Hartley look, finally Piper rolls his eyes.

"Heroes are supposed to help everyone. Or so I have been told recently. So, we will find Roy with your tracker and locate the Snarts. Any help after that…will be decided then."

Digger starts to stand up and almost immediately falls over. Axel's lightning fast reflexes save the day. And maybe KF grabbing him too. But like, Axel totally helped.

"You're in no condition to go anywhere man. Can you contact the Snarts?"

"Know a hotel Lisa might check messages at. Can send one there."

"Ok good. Axel, Hart, and I will follow the tracker and get Roy away from…R2. The three of us..."

"The perfect threesome!"

Axel pumped a fist in the air. The Dream Team was about to roll out!

They all turned and stared at him for a second.

"What? For a rescue! Come on. Those old dudes don't stand a chance." He'd say no offence to Digger, but the dude knows he's old. He's got like grey hairs in his beard and everything.

KF was still staring at him funny, but just shook his head.

"Anyway…you'll be alright here?" Digger nods. "Ok, Hart, anything on the tracker yet?"

"There's a faint signal. We will have to move around a bit to get a better lock on him."

"Alright. Luthor's goons are still looking for us. So we'll do this incognito. Change into civilian clothes and stay off the radar. Axel, you will focus on keeping cameras off of us."

"Yes Captain, my Captain."

"Ok, I'll go get us some changes of clothes and grab my car, I'll get your laptop from the apartment Hart. Be back in a sec."

KF is gone before Axel can ask why a speedster needs a car.

They're all just standing there.

It's hella awkward.

"Hart…" Digger's serious voice always weirds Axel out. It's just so unnatural. Like seeing a Twinkie growing in a garden. It's just…not supposed to be a thing, you know?

"I'm not saying I believe everything you've said, but I suppose it's possible something has happened to the Rogues. And I'm willing to entertain the idea that Roy may be worth saving. Mainly because I have questions for him. And he can't answer them if he's dead."

Axel threw an arm around Hartley's shoulder.

"Aww big softie."

"Knew you was still a Rogue mate."

"I'm not…"

"Once a Rogue, always a Rogue kid."

Hartley suddenly found his tablet very interesting.

"I'm amazed you idiots have managed to live this long. I'm only helping to make sure Luthor is brought to justice. That's it." He shrugged off Axel's arm and wandered over to a slightly different corner of Steve's office. Probably the one where he kept that fake plant. Where the employees would like hang gas station air fresheners as a joke.

Hilarious.

"Axel. Listen to Baby Flash."

"He's not the boss of me."

"Axel…"

"Ugh fiiiiine."

"Watch Hart's back."

"No duh."

That's what the Rogues do.

When they aren't being like brainwashed and shit of course. But like…95…92….87% of the time they had each other's backs.

Which was a really good statistic when you really thought about it.

But like maybe not too hard. Cause he def didn't just make it up. Nope. Definitely a real thing. He'd pull out the Excel spreadsheet and show it to Digger later. Bet he'd be impressed. Ok maybe not. Maybe Hart would be, he seemed like the kind of guy who would be impressed by...

"Axel? What are you doing, let's go!"

Shit. Right. Rescue Mission deployed!

Bombs Away, bitches.


	8. Chapter 8

Roy's eyes opened to a familiar sight. Shawna wrapping a bandage around his shoulder. She was focused on it as always. Taking care not to hurt any more than she had to. She was that way with all of them. Unless she was treating Digger, then she seemed to forget how to do things gently.

It was calming.

The fact that he was handcuffed to a chair and had an anti-meta device around his neck was a new development though.

"Welcome back." She was smiling at him. For a moment, he wondered if he hadn't dreamed it all. The fight, Scudder and Dillon turning the others against them…falling off that building.

She pulls slightly on the bandage and he hisses a little.

Guess he didn't imagine getting shot by a laser beam.

Roy looks around, any sense of normalcy or familiarity disappearing in an instant. He's sitting on an old wooden chair. Well, old might be unfair. Antique is probably the better word. The arms were carved into duck's heads and the seat was actually quite comfortable. The fabric itself even screamed wealth.

He was in some kind of study. It was like one you would see in movies. Leather bound books covering shelves built into the wall, a small metal ladder leaning off to the side. There were paintings on the walls that he wanted to get a closer look at. Not the kind you find in a store, the sort one might purloin from a museum. He was certain that one behind the desk was a Degas. Which was worth well over twenty million.

This might be the nicest safe house he had ever seen.

Shawna was still looking at him. She had finished working on his shoulder and was now just sitting there, on a small…footstool? Ottoman?

He doesn't quite know what that's called. He's never seen so much intact furniture in a place the Rogues have occupied for more than a few minutes.

That table has coasters on it. That more than anything else tells him there is something very wrong happening here.

"Roy? You back with us?" Shawna takes his chin and turns his face back towards hers. He decides to focus on her, at least her presence makes sense.

"What happened?"

"You got hit by a laser and we…"

"Not that. I mean this! I mean, what the hell is going on? Why did you betray us…"

"I didn't betray anybody. I was doing what we've always done. Looked out for myself, and you…"

"Shawna, you…you're being mind-controlled…"

"Roy, seriously? I make one decision, a decision half of the Rogues agree with, and I have to be mind controlled? What, just because Snart didn't come up with the idea means its shit? How many of his plans have been terrible?"

"That's not what…"

"And seriously Roy, look at what he did to us. To all of us. Becoming international terrorists was just the beginning. Your powers almost freaking broke. Do you have any idea how many injuries we have had over the past few months? I'm pretty sure Digger is just being held together by duct tape at this point. And don't even get me started on how lucky we were that Mick didn't die from all his burns. And then Snart was sidelining me, I mean I could see the writing on the wall."

"Shawna what…"

"He was going to disband the Rogues. Going to take off with his sister and leave the rest of us to just be cannon fodder while they ran."

"Snart wouldn't do that."

"Maybe not a year ago, but he's changed. You know that shit in Metropolis messed him up. You can't read people too well Roy, but I can. I saw the way he acted, like he was going to bolt at any second. I could see it in his eyes. Now the chip's out of his neck, it will be worse. But what happens if his powers mess up again? What happens when he just can't control them? Huh? We just wait around to become collateral damage? I'm done with that Roy. Done with letting someone else decide what happens to my life."

Roy was certain his mouth was hanging open slightly. He tried to think of anything he could say that would convince her that she was wrong. Anything that could make her see that she wasn't thinking clearly.

He tried to sit up straighter and his shoulder protested. She leaned forward and put a gentle hand on his chest.

"Don't move."

"I'd rather not be sitting down when whatever happens to me, happens."

She pulled back her hand, confusion on her face.

"What? Roy, nothing's going to happen to you."

Roy pulled on his cuffs slightly.

"Then why am I wearing these?"

"That…that was just a precaution. If you were to wake up and it was Scudder or Dillon in here you know? Like, you know it's us and we wouldn't…"

"You dropped me off a building."

"I was going to catch you! If Baby Flash hadn't run in I would have had you a second later. I wasn't going to hurt you. I just…wanted you to understand how I felt. Betrayal Roy, I feel it all the time with the Rogues now. Just waiting for someone to push me aside and leave me. I wanted you to come with us. I had to…"

"So you just made a deal with Luthor? That's the plan?"

"It's more complicated than that. But yea. We give him the chip and we can just disappear. No one will be looking for us. He'll say that we all died. Scudder said something about some face-changing tech we could steal. Go somewhere no one knows us. I've always wanted a boat. We could just sail off and be free of all this. This isn't what we signed up for. We shouldn't have to pay for Snart's mistakes. We will look out for each other. Come on Roy, you know I'm right."

She sounded so earnest. So sincere. It…it did seem like Shawna was in there. Like she was making all the decisions. It wasn't like when the Reverse Flash took over Mardon or when Grodd controlled people. He was almost inclined to believe her. To believe that this was what she really wanted.

Except for one little detail.

"You dropped me off a building."

She actually rolled her eyes at him this time. Like they were arguing over whether pineapple belongs on a pizza. Not attempted murder.

"I told you, I was going to catch you. I was just…just showing you how, how…"

"Shawna. You can't really believe that Scudder or Dillon will…"

"Man, screw them. We get this done and we break away from them. I'm saying it's us. You, me, Mark. It's the three of us, like always. We stick together. None of them have been through what we've been through. They do their thing, get this deal with Luthor done and the three of us just…"

"What about Mick?"

Shawna stops for a moment. She glances back towards the hallway. The others had to be close by somewhere. Though considering the state of this room, he's inclined to believe he's in a mansion of some kind. He wonders if there are different wings to this place.

"Mick's…he can tag along for a bit. But I figure he'll just go off on his own. Way he's been talking, I think he's done working with other people. Done with a lot of things."

Roy couldn't figure this out. Why the hell was Shawna so willing to trust that Scudder and Dillon wouldn't just turn them all over? He just needed to play along. The others would come find him before too long. He just needed a little more time. Figure out how she was being controlled. Figure out how to get her free. And the others.

"Where are we?"

"Dillon's old family estate or something."

"Isn't that…an obvious place to hide?"

"I guess not. Turns out her family used to be hella rich. Her and Hartley would have gotten along."

Roy doubted that very much.

"The cops know Dillon's working with us. They'll search here…"

"They won't find us. Some kind of tech that blocks their machines or something. Scanners, even heat sensors won't be able to detect us. Plus, since they made the deal with Luthor, he's keeping the cops away from here…"

"When."

"What?"

"When did Scudder and Dillon make this deal with Luthor?"

"What does that…?"

"Shawna, think about it. If Dillon has had a place to hide all this time, why the hell was she hiding out in run down motels with us? And when did they make this deal? Recently? It would have had to been prior to them coming after us. Because we have been watching them and Luthor non-stop for months. So why would they act like…"

"Roy you're not listening to what I'm saying. We're safe here, and once we get the chip…"

"Shawna, you're not…you're not this naïve. You know you can't trust them. Please. Shawna. Let me go. There's still time to…

"Shawna is a lot of things, but naïve isn't one of them." Dillon was hovering at the entrance to the living room. There was a small smile on her face. "Shawna has made the incredibly smart decision of taking her life into her own hands. She's not going to follow anyone's orders any more…isn't that right Shawna?"

It's only a moment, the briefest of seconds, but Roy swears he sees Dillon's eyes flash.

Shawna looks back at Roy and that earnestness is still there. But, now the desperation he saw on the rooftop was back as well. He thought for a moment there he might have been getting through to her.

"You'll understand Roy. You'll see that we are safer here than we ever were with Snart."

"I'll explain it to him Shawna. You go help Mick with…that thing."

Shawna gives him another smile. Roy wants to grab her wrist. Pull her back to him. He doesn't know how he could convince her to listen. He just doesn't want to let her out of his sight.

He pulls futilely on the handcuffs keeping him in the chair.

She leaves the room and Dillon takes her place on the footstool in front of him.

Roy averts his eyes. He does it out of habit, out of a feeling of a perceived threat. He doesn't know what he saw, but he's certain Dillon has done something to Shawna. Maybe to the others too.

"You know, I don't think you and I ever had a real chance to get to know each other Roy. Seems like a real wasted opportunity. I feel like you and I would really get along. We both appreciate the arts, the finer things in life. Since you have a little extra time right now, what's say we have a little chat."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"You've…you've done something to them. Brainwashed them…"

"Brainwashed…oh Roy, that's adorable." She runs a hand alongside his face. Like a babysitter with an errant child learning to speak.

She stands up and walks over to a nearby bookshelf. She lightly runs her fingers over the spines. She stops by one particularly large tome and pulls it off the shelf. She starts flipping through the pages.

"This was my grandfather's study. He loved all these books, read every single one in this room. Took him almost his entire life. Said a book didn't belong on a shelf if it hadn't been read. That any fool can buy a book. But a wise man doesn't let knowledge go unlearned. I would sit on the floor just over there, playing with my toys, and he would sit on the couch and read. We could go hours, just sitting in each other's presence. He understood how important the quiet moments were. My parents on the other hand…"

"Christ, really?"

She looks up from her book, frowning slightly at his dismissive tone.

"Something the matter?"

"Please tell me you aren't going to go into some long speech about how your parents didn't understand you, so you grew up to be a supervillain. Because I hate to break it to you, but that's basically all of our stories. You're not special."

She smiled again.

"Well, I suppose you would know all about absent parents wouldn't you Roy."

Roy continued to glare at her. She turned back to the book in her hands. She stared at it a few more seconds then put it back on the shelf.

"I suppose I'll give you the short and sweet version since you don't appear to be in the mood to have a real conversation. This used to be my home, then through some…difficult circumstances, it wasn't. Then I met Sam. We fell in love, pulled a couple jobs, particle accelerator hit…tale as old as time."

"A regular fairy tale."

"It really was. Then Snart almost ruined everything."

"All of this is for revenge on Snart?"

"Oh honey. No."

Roy was genuinely confused for a moment. She smiled wide, and for the first time since she entered the room, Roy felt something like menace in her words.

"I'll admit, that making Snart pay was, a very large part of this for quite a while. But then I realized, I was thinking too small. Taking over the Rogues, well that was child's play. Getting half of you to turn on each other took a lot less effort than I thought."

Roy smirked.

"You're lying."

She frowned for a half a second, then smiled again. She walked towards the chair, she circled it, and ran a hand down his neck. He tried to resist the urge to flinch away but didn't quite catch himself in time.

She leaned in until her lips were right next to his cheek.

"You really don't like people in your personal space do you?"

She smiled and sat down on his lap, draping an arm around his shoulders. She touched the bandage around his shoulder lightly. Not enough to hurt him. Just enough to remind him she could if she wanted to.

"Ok, I admit. It was a teensy bit harder to turn you all than I thought it would be. I did initially dream of getting to Lisa first, the idea of making her be the one to kill her own brother was…intoxicating. The look in his eyes when she would drive the dagger into his chest…Can you imagine? I supposed the look of betrayal when Mick kills him will have to do."

Roy could hear it in her tone, the amusement, the viciousness. She was completely certain of her abilities. None of this lined up with what he thought he knew about her. He had dismissed her. Dismissed her as nothing more than the girlfriend of a much more powerful meta.

"Lisa would never…"

"Oh she would have, I just didn't have enough time to get her alone. She avoided me. I suppose we can't get everything we want. I don't brainwash people Roy. That implies that I'm making them do things they don't want to do. And this…this is exactly what they want. Mardon wants off his leash, Shawna wants to run, Mick wants to burn everything in his path. Give me a little time Roy, and I can help you too. Help you stop suppressing all those things you really want to do. No more rules Roy. That's what I offered them. That's what I helped them to see. They don't need rules, don't need to be reined in. They need to be free. Do you even know what real freedom is Roy?"

She smirked, leaning in closer. Roy hated that she was this close. That it made him this uncomfortable. He tried to lean away but she grabbed the collar of his shirt, her knuckles pressing into his shoulder.

He grit his teeth while she pushed harder. He kept his eyes focused on the odd armrests of the chair. He felt her shift, her lips are near his ear. Her words are barely a whisper.

"The destruction of Snart was just the tip of the iceberg."

Roy thinks about head butting her. He barely contains the urge. He needs to stay calm. Wait for the others to come. Find out what he can. The others will need to know.

"What are you after then?"

"That would ruin the surprise Roy."

She kisses him on the cheek then stands up. She walks to the entrance and pauses in the doorway.

"Don't worry sweetie. I'll be back, then I can help you too. Show you everything you've been missing." She blows him a kiss and leaves without another word.

Roy felt like screaming.

How could they have not seen it? How could they have not noticed what Dillon was doing? They were all so focused on Luthor. So sure he was the real threat…Even when they didn't trust Scudder, they barely thought about Dillon. Roy never even noticed her most of the time. Scudder was the one who was always doing the talking. The one making all the noise. Roy didn't think he had heard Dillon speak more than a few sentences in the months they were working together.

"Damn it." He started pulling on the cuffs again. His left shoulder was aching, not allowing him to get much purchase with that arm. But he pulled and pulled on the right one.

After a few minutes he had to admit that he just didn't have the upper body strength on the best of days to pull a wooden arm off of this stupidly comfortable chair.

He leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment. Allowing himself to just breathe.

So destroying the Rogues wasn't the end game. Just a fun bonus for her in her mad plan for…something.

When would she have made the deal with Luthor? The timing didn't make sense. And Scudder…what was his real role? He must know what Dillon was doing. It must have been why they tried to grab Snart in the first place, to get the chip out and give it to Luthor.

Roy sighed. He doubted he would be the one to figure all of this out. When the others came for him, they could figure this out together.

As long as the others weren't captured by Luthor…

No, if they had the chip, Dillon would have handed it over. Shawna said they didn't have it yet. So someone had to have gotten away.

He isn't sure how long he is kept in the chair. He knows a few hours pass. It's still light out, so it couldn't have been more than a day. No one else comes to see him, and he has no way of trying to figure out what is happening. No way of getting information about what Dillon is really planning.

All he can do is sit and wait for a rescue. He hated that he found himself in this situation so often. Why was he…

It wasn't just the sound of the explosion, and the shaking of the house, and the books flying off the shelves. It was the sound he could hear just underneath it. A sound he actually recognized.

The Mario Kart theme.

The building shook again.  
Axel was here. And he was apparently trying to blow up the entire place, with appropriately themed bombs no doubt. Roy had seen him working on ones shaped like turtle shells a few weeks ago.

God he hoped the kid wasn't alone. Even Axel wouldn't be that crazy to...

Damn it. He couldn't even finish that thought. Of course Axel would come alone if he felt like it.

He tried at the cuffs again but to no avail. Dust was raining down on him from the ceiling. At least he hoped it was dust. Old house like this it could be lead paint or asbestos. God knows what's…

"Time to go."

Roy turned to see Mark striding into the room. He pulled out a pair of keys and uncuffed Roy's hands. Roy was going to try and say something, try to reason with Mardon.

Not the easiest task on the best of days.

But then Mardon grabbed Roy by his injured arm and yanked him forcefully to his feet.

Roy barely resisted the urge to throw up at the manhandling.

Right.

Mark was pissed at him for not letting him kill either of the West children.

He had kind of forgotten about that little detail. Still, didn't mean the man had to be so violent.

"They're going to kill you Roy. We gotta go."

Roy was certain he was looking just as dumbfound by this conversation as he had been by the other two he had today.

"What?"

"Kid Flash and his cronies. Attacking the house like this. They didn't know what room you were in. They were just going to kill you."

"Mardon, listen Flash isn't trying to…"

"Not going to let that happen."

"I…" The house shook again, Roy watched as long cracks began to tear in the walls. Roy was certain this house wasn't going to survive an all-out attack by the Rogues.

Wouldn't be the first building the Rogues have destroyed during an internal fight.

Mardon was pulling him towards the back of the house. Roy could see a fight happening outside. He could see the telltale signs of Axel's presence, but he also saw something zoom past the window. That confirmed that at least Kid Flash was here too. Though why that seemed to bother Mark so much, Roy couldn't fathom.

Roy was too focused on trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He almost didn't duck in time when Mark pushed his head down, forcing him into a car. Or when Mark put one of the handcuffs around Roy's wrist and attached it to the door.

"Mark…"

The man ignored him, slamming the passenger side door closed. He rushed around to the other side of the car, jumping into the driver's seat. He even ignored Roy as he began to hotwire the car.

"Mark. What the hell are you doing? Not like you to run away from a fight." He can't believe he is actually trying to convince Mardon to stay behind and fight the other Rogues.

But this isn't like him. He doesn't run. He fights and then he fights some more. Most of the time the man doesn't even know what he's fighting about. And now he just wants to run?

Mardon gets the car started and puts it in drive. He floors it, and the tires squeal as they pull out of the garage.

Roy tries to shade his eyes as they start down the driveway. Roy can finally see some semblance of where he is. It's an old estate, the kind they put on lists of historic landmarks. He can imagine at one point it must have been incredible. But now there are signs of disrepair. Places where the veneer of wealth has begun to fade.

The yard out front was overgrown, in need of basic maintenance.

Even more so now that Mick was setting a row of hedges on fire.

Roy managed to spot Hartley ducking out of the way of the flames. Shooting a sonic blast back towards Mick. He couldn't spot Dillon or Scudder anywhere. Or Shawna.

Mardon was muttering to himself over and over again. Roy hadn't been able to figure out the words at first, but even now with the sounds of the fight outside, he could start to make out the words.

"Not again. Not again…"

"Mark. Listen to me. We need to go back. Dillon, she's done something to you. To all of you."

Roy wasn't entirely sure that Mardon could hear anything Roy said.

Which, may have been a bit of a blessing, because Roy was certain he must have made the most unmanly screech when the car began to slide sideways.

The car spun in a circle then slammed directly into a wall of snow.

The windows of the car began to ice over.

"No! Damn it."

Mardon used his powers to open his door. A gust of wind knocking it completely off the hinges. Roy was thankful Mardon hadn't done it to the door Roy was currently cuffed to. That could have ended badly.

Mardon charged out of the car, and a few seconds later there was the familiar sound of lightening hitting objects close by.

Roy slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the key to the handcuffs.

Thankfully Mark hadn't seen him pull that little sleight of hand. He removed the cuffs and pushed open the partially frozen door. He removed the anti-meta collar from his neck and shoved it into his pocket. Maybe he could put it around Dillon's neck and that would stop whatever she had done.

The scene that greeted him was…alarming.

And that may have been a slight understatement.

The fight between the Rogues yesterday, or whenever it had been, had been at night. It hadn't been possible to see everything that was happening.

Now, in the light of day. With everyone apparently deciding to just try and kill each other on the front lawn, it was a completely disturbing sight.

Mardon was flying again.

Which didn't really surprise Roy. Mardon was always trying to intimidate people with that trick. Keep you off guard by forgetting you had to look up for potential threats. The man was circling above. There was ice everywhere around the car and the driveway, but there was no sign of Snart himself. He flew low a few times, trying to hit Kid Flash as he ran circles around Mick. The kid was focusing on putting out the pyro's fires.

Kid Flash stopped abruptly and spun his arms in circles, using the force to knock Mardon out of the sky.

Hartley was keeping Mick busy. Using his sonic gauntlets to knock the man to his knees. Roy caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Just in time to see Shawna appear behind Axel.

"Axel!"

Roy yelled a warning at the youngest Rogue, and pushed down the sick feeling in his stomach at the look of betrayal that Shawna leveled at him. Axel hit her with a sticky bomb. Her arms were stuck to her sides. It didn't keep her from disappearing but it meant she couldn't grab anyone with her powers and drop them in a lake.

She was gone before he could even think of a way to stop her.

Roy headed towards where Kid Flash was attempting to keep Mardon down.

"Sorry Mark."

Roy caught Mark's eyes and hit him with his calming powers. The man just sort of plopped down and sat on the ground. He stared up at Kid Flash.

"Your daddy killed my brother."

He said it so detached. As though commenting on the color of the sky.

Kid Flash didn't say anything. Just stared at the man on the ground. Then he turned and looked at Roy.

"Remind me never to get hit with your powers."

Roy smirked. A loud explosion caused them both to turn.

One of Mick's gauntlets was on the ground, flames flying into the air.

Hartley was staring at Mick. His hands still raised. Mick was glaring at the kid.  
"I was able to find the frequency that causes the metal in your gauntlets to vibrate to the point that they will ignite the fluid stored in the upper chamber. Stand down Mick, or I will do it to the one still on your arm."

Mick growled.

"Let's see you do it kid. Gotta get your first kill in sometime. Might as well make it memorable."

Hartley glared at Mick.

"I will do it."

"No you won't."

"He might not. But I will."

Snart appeared on the other side of Hartley. Ice on his fingertips, frost forming on the ground around him. Mick laughed.

"Is that right? All these years, all the bullshit. And you'd just kill me now."

"Not to be childish, but you tried to kill me first."

"If I had tried to kill you, I would have done it in your sleep. Lit you up before you were even able to so much as scream."

"Mick…"

Mick kept his remaining gauntlet pointed directly at Hartley. The flames started to swirl around his hand.

"Not going to put my flames down Snart, so you gotta make a choice here. Me, or the traitor."

Snart's eyes flicked over to Hartley then to Mick.

"Damn it Mick…."

Whatever choice Snart had made was suddenly irrelevant.

Scudder reached through the window behind Mick and pulled him inside.

Kid Flash tried to run and grab Mick but it was too late. By the time he reached the window, the portal had returned to just glass.

"Shit. Sorry. I should have grabbed him…"

"Not your fault kid. I should have frozen his legs to keep him from leaving." Snart turns away from the window. "Roy. I see you managed to get yourself kidnapped again."

"Character flaw of mine."

Axel appeared and put an arm around Roy's shoulders.

"It's these cheeks man. Look at this face. It just screams Kidnap Me!" Axel attempted to pinch one of Roy's cheeks and Roy slapped his hand away.

"Mardon's over there."

"Good. We will take him back to the black site. See if we can't figure out what Dillon's done to him."

Kid Flash had moved over to stand by Hartley but turned at Snart's words.

"You really think it's Dillon? I mean, we don't have anything that says she's capable of this. I thought it was something Luthor had done."

"Digger believes she has some kind of power to control people."

Hartley rolled his eyes.

"Because Digger's such an expert on metahumans."

"No. But he is an expert in manipulations. He seems to think she is working towards some other goal."

Roy absently rubbed at his shoulder.

"She is. Dillon said it wasn't just about the Rogues. At least not anymore. She had the others working on something. Shawna said the plan was to give Luthor the chip and disappear. But I didn't get the impression that Dillon had any plans to fade into the night."

"Well then, sounds like he need to regroup. What do you say we blow this popsicle stand?"

Despite everything, Roy almost laughed out loud.

Captain Cold was back.

Snart walked over to where Mardon was still sitting on the ground still staring blankly around him. Mardon barely reacted when Snart cold cocked him, knocking the man out. Roy pulled the anti-meta collar out of his pocket and extended it to Cold.

Cold gave it a glance for a second, then raised his eyebrow.

It took a second to understand Cold's confusion.

"For Mardon. Not you."

Cold took the collar hesitantly then placed it around Mardon's neck.

"It will be prudent to keep him unconscious until we figure out what's happening."

Roy nodded as Axel, Kid Flash, and Hartley joined them.

"Dude this place is like hella creepy. I bet there are at least a dozen ghosts living in it. There are legit graves out back. A small little graveyard! And three of the graves said Roscoe Dillon on them? Did the dude die like three times? Oh my god guys, is this zombies or…"

"It's not zombies, one of the graves said Junior and the other said the Third."

"A convenient way of hiding that you're an immortal zombie dude who keeps coming back to life. How much money to you want to bet that there is a portrait in the attic aging because…"

"Axel, focus. Any sign of any incoming Luthor issues?"

Roy answered before Axel could start on another tangent.

"Shawna said the place was protected, that Luthor had tech keeping anyone from detecting it. He's been keeping the cops away."

"Well, that must be nice. All the more reason for us to get out of here. Baby Flash, if you would be so kind."

"I really hate you guys, you know that right? I'm serious about you guys dropping that nickname."

Despite his annoyance, Kid Flash grabbed them all and took them to where they had left Digger.

Lisa was giving Hartley a death glare but she didn't try to attack him when he entered the black site. So that was something.

Roy didn't think too much on the looks Hartley was giving him. They seemed to be half anger, half confusion.

There just wasn't the time for that conversation right now. He's not sure Hartley would believe anything he had to say. Or that Roy wanted to say anything in front of the other Rogues.

They just needed to get through this…then maybe he could talk to Hartley. If the kid would even listen.

Lisa walked past Hartley without so much as a glance, she was focused on her brother.

"Digger's asleep, should be fine. What happened?" She gives Roy a once over with her eyes. He gives a short smile. She seems to take that as confirmation that he was fine.

Snart and Axel drop Mardon on the ground. Axel put a pair of cuffs on the man. Roy never figured out why the kid kept those on him. Of course, he couldn't figure out why the kid did half of the things he did. He had asked him once about the domino mask and Axel's only response had been 'for the aesthetic.' Roy hadn't been sure what to make of that. Mainly because he hadn't realized Axel knew what that word meant.

"Managed to grab Mardon, what to you need to see what's happening to him?"

Hartley was looking down at his phone, but stopped and bent down beside Mardon.

"At minimum an EKG, CAT and MRI machines, and the equipment to run some blood tests."

"I think we know somewhere we can…"

Kid Flash put a hand up at Snart's words.

"Whoa, hold up. Before you guys start planning out another heist. I'm pretty sure we have all that stuff back at STAR Labs so…"

"Great. Then you can bring it all here."

"What? I mean it would be easier just to take Mardon to…"

"Easier, yes. Safer, no. Bring it here kid." Snart's tone brokered little room for debate. For a moment, Roy thought that Kid Flash might say no. Might decide that heroes shouldn't be stealing their own equipment to help out a bunch of villains who may or may not be brainwashed.

The kid sighed and shook his head slightly.

In less than two hours Kid Flash was able to bring every piece of equipment Hartley needed back to the black site. The interior of the abandoned building looked like one of the most expensive pop up hospitals in history.

They were all sitting around, waiting. There was little else to do at this point. They found some chairs and tables in the back storage room. Lisa, Digger, and Roy were currently playing the most unenthusiastic game of poker ever seen by man. Axel was typing on his laptop. Kid Flash had run off a few hours ago. Something about checking in with other people. All they could do was wait for Hartley to figure out what was happening to Mardon.

Who, thanks to some sedatives, was still unconscious. He was currently in the MRI machine. Hartley had mentioned that he had sent some of the results to Caitlin to get her opinion, though he didn't say who the patient was.

Snart hadn't been happy but had to concede that none of them were doctors.

Maybe Shawna could have seen something if she was here. Roy tries to push that out of his head. The look she gave him when he warned Axel…

She would forgive him.

Once they got everyone fixed, she would have to forgive him.

Hopefully.

"Son of a bitch." Hartley's exclamation broke the somber silence that engulfed the large room.

"What is it?" Snart wandered over.

Hartley looks as though the words he is about to speak physically pain him.

"Digger was right. The Rogues have been influenced by Dillon."

"What did she do to them?"

"Did any of you spend much time around her?"

Digger shook his head.

"She didn't seem to like me much for some reason."

Hartley scoffed.

"Someone didn't like you? What a surprise."

Lisa was standing behind Hartley looking at the readings on his tablet.

"None of us spent much time with her…but Shawna, Mark, and Mick did. They were in the Mirror Verse for extended periods of time. You're saying her powers…?"

"I'm saying, it looks like her powers can alter the brain chemistry of people. See this here? The amygdala controls things like memory, emotions, and survival responses. Think fight or flight."

"So her powers change parts of the amygdala…"

"It's not so much changed as, separate parts are interacting in ways they shouldn't. Her powers twists things, for lack of a better term. Making emotions like anger or fear stick to memories they might not have before. Suddenly things that were forgotten or forgiven, feel like they are life and death scenarios. Shawna's abandonment issues, Mardon's brother, Mick's obsessions. All of these core parts of who they are, now have all these intense emotions that aren't fading, they just keep building. They are stuck in this constant heightened state. Mardon's unconscious and look at how his brain is still lighting up."

Roy glanced at the Snarts.

"She said she originally wanted to get to Lisa first. But she didn't have the time. She must have wanted to do this to all of us."

"But she couldn't get the rest of us alone long enough."

"I think she thought it would be easier to turn us on each other."

"Hm. Wasn't expecting them to fight the urge to kill us. You heard Mick, even when he wanted to kill me, he didn't do it in my sleep. Which he could have at any time. He waited for a fight. So she couldn't just plan that someone would kill me and she could take the chip from my dead body. Had to make it into an all-out war."

"How do we fix it?"

"We might be able to create a machine that counteracts her powers. Using my vibration tech and Axel's…unusual aptitude for his absurd ideas to actually work…"

Axel scooted his chair right next to Hartley's.

"Sweet talker."

"…we can counteract her powers. Reset their brains in a way. It's not just blocking her powers. If we did that, it could take weeks or months for their brain chemistry to go back to normal. We can develop…"

Snart holds up a hand.

"It will take longer for you to explain it to us than it would to just build it. Get to it. Once you have a working prototype we will test it on Mardon."

"What if we like…get a decimal wrong or something and fry his brain." Axel glanced over to Mardon.

"Then I would suggest double checking your math."

"Yes sir, Captain. Captain of our hearts and minds. Captain of this great ship known only as…"

Snart turns away from Axel and Hartley, he motions to the others and they walk away, giving the two geniuses space to work.

"What are you thinking boss?" Digger's voice was still a bit strained. The man sat down as soon as they got near a chair.

"It's what Dillon said to Roy. She's not after us. That controlling us is too small, she has larger aspirations."

"You think she's going to try and control someone else?"

"I think she already is."

"Who?"

"Luthor."

"What? You saying she's…"

"She wasn't behind Evergreen Acres or the manhunt, that was all him. But what Iris said about Luthor planning another explosion. If a reporter can figure out he is behind an upcoming terrorist attack, then any investigative agency will be able to as well. It's sloppy, and while Luthor is a great many things, sloppy isn't one of them. It reeks of desperation."

"Shit. What do we do?"

Snart glanced back towards Axel and Hartley, towards Mardon laying on the table.

"We save our other members. Anything else is secondary."

Roy agreed with that. Let Luthor blow up an entire city. Maybe destroy himself in the process.

The other Rogues were the only thing that mattered.

* * *

There were times when Lisa hated the fact that her brother had brought the Rogues together.

Not because she hated any of the members, or the lifestyle, or the jobs they pulled. But because, for the longest time, she had only ever had to care about two other people.

Len and Mick.

That was her family. Those were the two idiots she worried about when a job went sideways.

She still remembers the call she got from Len after that cursed warehouse fire. The stupidly calm voice he had tried to use to tell her that he and Mick were no longer partners. And that Mick had disappeared from the back of the ambulance. It had taken months for her to find out where Mick was.

Months of trying to convince the two of them to stop being such idiots. She had realized fairly early on that it was futile of course, but that wasn't the point. You don't just ignore the fact that they had stuck together for so long. You fight for those kind of things.

Eventually they figured it out. She knew they would. The cold gun was just an excuse to bring the family back together.

But now it wasn't just the three them. Now it was Shawna, and Roy, and Mark, and Digger, and Axel. And having to care about that many people was exhausting.

Watching someone you care about get hurt, it made her chest ache in a way she hadn't felt since Lewis went to prison. After that, Lenny became her impervious older brother that nothing could hurt. Lewis had been an outlier, only able to hurt Len because Len allowed it to protect her. No one outside of Lewis could ever hurt Lenny.

Ridiculous of course.

But she had held on to some childish thoughts for a lot longer than she should have. Like the fact that her father might one day see the error of his ways. Stop drinking. Realize how good she was at school, come to one of her ice skating shows. Pay attention to her without it ending with bruises.

Some people were just garbage. Didn't change just because they were related to you.

Seeing Digger unconscious, leaning against the wall of an abandoned Kmart, had made her chest constrict in a way she didn't feel like thinking on. She doubted she ever really would.

She was able to tell he was breathing. So she focused on scoping out the place. There were no mirrors, no surfaces that Scudder could use to get to them. And none of the others knew about this place. She was certain she hadn't been tracked. Doubled back at least a dozen times. Not taking any chances.

It should be safe for the moment.

She finished her second circuit of the empty space before she finally sat down beside him. When he woke up properly she was going to yell at him for this. For making her have to think about these kinds of things. It was the fact that she had nothing to do. Len had wanted her to come here, check on Digger, make sure the place was safe for them.

She knew what Len was doing. Getting her away from the fight. From what might happen between the Rogues.

She had seen the exhaustion in his eyes. The pain from more than just the surgery.

So she had let him have his moment. Let him have some illusion of control in protecting her.

She gives Digger a quick look. She sees his jacket and boomerang holster hanging over a nearby chair. He must have moved over here when he realized he might just pass out and collapse onto the floor. She sighs slightly, then maneuvers him so that his head is laying on her legs.

She takes out her newly acquired burner phone and makes sure there are no missed calls. There wouldn't be of course, it had been less than two hours since she and Len had parted ways. The problem with burner phones is they didn't usually have any good games on them. No way to keep her mind from…

"…Lisa?"

Digger's got one eye open, the confusion in his face there for only a moment.

"You never to manage to stay out of the way of sharp objects do you?"

"I have a naturally magnetic personality love."

She lets him have his little smirk.

"Mhmm."

His eyes slip closed again.

She is going to kick his ass later. Not for the idiocy of his comment, that's just par for the course with him. But for leaving a message at that hotel for her.

Maybe kick her own ass a little for instantly thinking to check there.

At least Lenny hadn't asked how she got a message from Digger. No need for that awkward conversation any time soon.

The bandages around his chest are spotted with red. She smiles softly at the ridiculous Hello Kitty band aid stuck in the middle of his chest. Axel no doubt.

Digger's breathing has evened back out. Not a sure sign that he is actually unconscious, but still. She takes a quick look around. No one there but the two of them.

She runs a quick hand across the side of his face, her fingers then moving through his hair. A light touch. Nothing any outside person could see. He might not even feel it.

She's allowed her small indulgences in kindness every so often. Her soft, gentle moments. As long as there were no witnesses.

Lenny had always been such a stickler for the rules. Always had to have a plan. It was Lewis' influence of course. Going on jobs with their father, seeing the way Lewis never had a concrete strategy. How it always ended with in his failures being taken out on the two of them.

So Len never faltered, never strayed from the rules he put in place. He needed them. They were a reminder to him. A reminder that he was nothing like Lewis. He took comfort in the semblance of control.

She had always taken a different approach. Rules didn't hold the same appeal to her that they did to her big brother. Not to say that she was completely careless on a job. And she had, over the years, begun to see the wisdom in having an air tight plan in place. Even made up a few rules of her own along the way.

But what was life without a little chaos.

Digger unconsciously leaned towards her touch. She kept moving her fingers through his hair.

Maybe she breaks her own rules every once in a while. No real harm in that.

She's got Digger situated differently by the time the others get back, laying in the corner, her jacket under his head. Enough to show she checked on him, but nothing else.

They come in carrying Mardon between them like a sack of potatoes.

She reigns in her rage at seeing Hartley. Telling herself she needs to stay calm for now. Figure out the situation. She doesn't know if she would have been able to do that if original Flash was here instead of Baby Flash.

She still owes the Flash for what happened to her brother. And she fully intends to make him pay, in full.

But that was vengeance for another day.

Hartley starts going on about something about Dillon's powers being the ones that caused the others to turn.

She felt the knot in her chest loosen just the slightest bit.

Mind control.

They could fix that. That was something tangible. That was a problem that could be fixed with a machine or a gadget or something that Axel and Hartley could come up with.

That wasn't something that couldn't be undone. Something that she had always feared.

During the street fight, she had been so certain she might have to kill Mick.

Not the first time she's thought that.

But when he leveled those flames at Lenny, when she saw the look in his eyes…

She'd only been scared of Mick once before. Scared for Mick, well that had been a near constant part of her life for years. But scared of him…

It had been a job they pulled together without Len. She thinks Len had been in Europe somewhere. It wasn't jail. If it had been jail he would have just broken out to help her, or Mick would have been in lock up with him.

Mick was just supposed to be the driver. They'd known each other for years at this point, but she was still relatively new to the life. She'd done a few smash and grabs, a few cons on some older men, but nothing like what she needed Mick for.

She'd gotten information about a safe this millionaire had in his summer estate. Supposed to have lots of shiny gold necklaces.

She knew all about the safe, had it all planned out. Just like big brother had taught her.

Of course, what she didn't know is that the security guard she had paid off had already stolen most of the necklaces. That he was planning on shooting her during the robbery and blaming any missing jewelry on some unknown partner.

She'd see people shot before. Blood didn't bother her, broken bones were old hat, bruises were nothing a good concealer couldn't fix.

Mick strangling a man to death had been new.

Of course he had done it to protect her. Of course she had appreciated it, even at the time. It wasn't why he had done it that had scared her.

It was the look in his eyes. No remorse, no second thoughts. Just another dead potential witness.

She'd smiled, even as they were driving away. The rush of the job still buzzing in her veins. The cops chasing them, Mick driving as she fired out the window. The security guard had tripped the alarm when he realized Mick was there. That it wouldn't be as easy to kill her as he had thought.

She'd kept that smile in place when she thanked him for saving her. Both of them swearing to never let Lenny know about what had happened. They'd even gone out for a pizza at that Italian place she used to love, back before she'd ever been to Italy and realized what good food actually was.

But that night, when she was alone. She had been afraid. Afraid for a moment that this friend of Len's might do the same to her one day.

Might just kill her and never think on it again.

Over the years of course, she had written off those thoughts as ridiculous. Mick was Mick. He'd kill a cop, or a mobster, or any other asshole that pissed him off. But he wouldn't kill her. Or Len. Or any of the Rogues.

The look in his eyes in the street. The way he had attacked Len. He would have killed Len. He would have killed her.

And he wouldn't have thought anything of it.

Until they unscrambled his brain.

When he was free of the mind control, what would he do then? If he had killed Len, or her? If he killed another family with his fire? She can imagine the scenarios for what Mick would have done then.

To anyone around him.

To himself.

She knows it's the same for Mardon and Shawna. If Roy had died when Shawna pushed him off that building. If Mardon killed any of them, as much as he may think it wouldn't bother him, she knew the truth.

It would have destroyed them.

It would have been the end of them all.

And they each would have blamed themselves. For not being able to fight it, for giving into whatever Dillon's powers had done. And the remaining members would have had to deal with the guilt of not seeing the signs. Of not realizing what was happening to their family right in front of their eyes.

How could she have not noticed the way Mick was acting. Why didn't she try to talk to him more? Why did she just let him go off into the Mirror Verse?

Why, why, why.

That's what would had done them in.

But they can fix this. It wasn't too late, no permanent damage had been done.

They can undo mind control. They can get their family members back. They can kill their enemies, hopefully very slowly, and they can start to put some semblance of their lives back together.

She tried not to think on how naïve that all sounded.

Childish hopes.

Apparently she still hadn't gotten rid of all of them.


	9. Chapter 9

Mark looked pissed.

Maybe the gag hadn't been necessary. But the man had been unwilling to listen to what they had to say, and quite frankly Roy had gotten tired of listening to him yell.

Kid Flash standing beside him probably didn't help the situation.

Axel and Hartley had managed to create a device that should undo the effects of Dillon's influence. But Kid Flash had to be the one to use it.

Something about him having to vibrate at a certain frequency.

Roy would leave the science to the geniuses. As long as it worked he couldn't care less how shaky their explanation had sounded.

Mark couldn't be wearing the anti-meta collar when they did this, so several of the Rogues were standing around, in case the device doesn't work like it's supposed to.

In case Mark got the chance to use his powers against them.

"Ready Kid?" Cold was the closest. Roy could see the frost forming around Mark's chair. Hopefully he wouldn't have to freeze Mardon, but he was ready just in case.

"Yea, I got this."

"Of course you got this bro! I mean, aside from the fact that if you vibrate at the wrong frequency it will straight up melt Mark's brain…" Hartley hit Axel in the side. He gave the young Rogue a glare, then turned back to the hero.

"You'll be fine. Everything will work perfectly."

Kid Flash looked decidedly less confident as he held the device in his hands. Roy was certain it had nothing to do with the fact that it looked like Hartley and Axel had made it out of duct tape and some pieces of wire. Eventually, he took a deep breath and started running around Mark.

He had to remove the collar, activate the device, vibrate at the right frequency, and then deactivate the device.

It was over in less than five seconds.

Roy was certain he was imagining the fact that it looked like Mark's eyes were spinning in his head. The man briefly looked like he might throw up, then he looked up at the Rogues.

He still looked pissed.

Of course, he was still gagged.

But there wasn't any lightening raining down upon them, so maybe they were alright.

Snart gave Roy a nod, so Roy took a few steps and removed the gag. He may have removed his hand quicker than was necessary. But Mark had tried to bite Axel when the kid had first put it on.

"Mardon."

"Snart."

The two men were sizing each other up. Glaring at each other the way they normally did when they disagreed on something. Which is to say, all the time. Suddenly, Snart smiled. The frost forming around him disappearing in an instant.

"Untie him."

"What? How do you know it worked?" Kid Flash was still standing nearby, ready to interfere. Snart glanced back at Mardon.

"You going to try and kill us again?"

"Depends, you assholes planning on gagging me again?"

"See, he's fine."

Hartley came around from behind his computer and started asking Mardon questions.

"How do you feel? Are you suffering any headaches? Did you lose any sight in your left eye? Can you remember how…"

"There is this one really annoying sound, sort of on my left."

"Really, is it localized to…oh. Hilarious."

"I thought so."

Roy moved over and helped untie Mardon. He went to move away, but Mardon put a hand out. Roy took it and helped the man stand up from the chair. Mardon held onto Roy's hand for a moment, squeezing it tightly.

Roy gave the man a slight smile.

Mardon turned towards Snart.

"We know where the others are? Because I really want to kill that bitch."

"Believe me, we all want that opportunity."

"I'm going to pretend I don't hear you guys planning a murder."

"Might want to leave the room then Baby Flash."

Mark just looks at Kid Flash for a moment. Roy sees the anger flash through the man's eyes. But it's not as vicious as it had been only a day ago.

"Dillon's going to suffer for this."

"She'll go to prison."

"We will talk semantics later." Snart stepped in between the two. "For now, we need to focus on getting our other wayward lambs back. Axel?"

"Right? So like, we were able to track Roy because Digger put a tracker on him. And I was like duh, we should do that all the time. Not just for Roy but like for all of us, except you guys are real resistant to my idea about implanting microchips…"

"Axel."

"Right, so when we ran Operation Over the Rainbow, I was able to cause enough of a distraction to throw a beacon through one of Scudder's open mirrors. It can't get a signal inside there. But once he opens a mirror the signal dings against the nearest cell tower. Telling me, within a few blocks, where he opened a mirror. And in the last two hours, he has opened seven mirrors all within downtown Central City."

Snart nodded then turned back to Mardon.

"Did you hear anything about their plan?"

"Not much. Scudder was still the one doing all the talking. But all he ever talked about was meeting up with Luthor. Giving them the chip. Getting away clean. Dillon had Mick working on something. Don't know what though. She plays it close to the vest."

Lightening was crackling around Mark's fingers again. Dillon wasn't going to live very long once Mark got his eyes on her.

Kid Flash was standing behind Axel, looking at all the areas that Scudder had opened mirrors.

"It's gotta have something to do with the attack Iris mentioned right? Like maybe Dillon is helping Luthor set up another one."

"I don't think Dillon plans on helping anyone but herself. Regardless, that's not our problem. We get the others then…"

"Wait, if it is an attack then we have to find a way to stop it."

"No. You have to find a way to stop it Baby Flash. The Rogues are my only priority. Helping out has never done us any favors, and…" Snart put up a hand, forestalling any arguments from Wally. "…the cops will just shoot us on sight. Being there would only slow down your ability to stop whatever potential threat Luthor may have up his sleeve."

Wally looked conflicted. Clearly he wanted the Rogues to help. To stop whatever attack could lead to the deaths of so many innocent civilians. But he knew Snart was right too. The Rogues wouldn't be able to so much as help a kitten out of a tree before they would be shot dead.

"Well, I have to be the one who uses the machine. But I can't…."

"We find the others, and we will find Dillon. She will know what Luthor is up to and will have more information than you could gather by just running around really quickly. Help us, and then you can save your quaint little city."

Kid Flash didn't appreciate Cold's tone. But he went along with the plan anyway.

Not that it was much of a plan. Find the others, use the device to free Mick and Shawna, then kill Scudder and Dillon.

They might have left that last part out for the hero but it was definitely understood amongst the Rogues.

Axel's beacon pinged off of a new cell tower and Kid Flash rushed them all to the location.

The plan was to start searching empty homes and warehouses, find a lead, try to catch the others by surprise.

Suppose it was a bit of a surprise that the literal first house the Flash ran them to ended up being the right one.

Both sets of Rogues just stared at each other.

Roy only had a moment to really look around. Mick was near some kind of tube. It was taller and wider than Mick, had a sort of medical look about it. Like some kind of cryogenic chamber.

Scudder and Shawna were off to the side, while Dillon was hovering near Mick.

"Kid…"

Kid Flash runs towards Mick, attempting to get the pyro first with the device. Unfortunately the two metas best equipped to deal with the speedster were currently on the opposite side. Shawna pulled Mick out of the way before Kid Flash could reach him. And Scudder pulled Dillon into a nearby mirror.

Snart used his powers to freeze a nearby mirror, trying to prevent the number of reflective surfaces that Scudder could attack them from. Axel was aiding in this by throwing what he called Kablooey's at any reflective surface. They were basically ash bombs, with some sort of sticky substance that made removing the black material incredibly difficult.

Shawna reappeared, dropping Mick off behind them. The fire from his gauntlets flew just above Digger and Lisa. Both were able to duck just in time. Roy and Hartley were forced behind a table a few seconds later.

A wood table. Not a great hiding place.

Roy started to turn towards Hartley when the sound of something crashing through the wall forced his attention away.

It was several of Luthor's androids. If Dillon was truly manipulating Luthor, then she could have access to all of his tech. Roy could see the drones hovering just outside through the windows.

Mark started to hurl lightening bolts at the drones outside. Several were able to dodge, but Roy saw a few explode. Mark ducked out through the hole created by the initial wave of robots. Roy could hear the sound of the wind picking up. Mark using his powers to keep any more robots from interfering in the fight happening inside.

Roy pulled a gun, firing ineffectual bullets at the mechanical attackers. Hartley was having better luck, his sound vibrations were literally shaking the robots to pieces.

A small object landed only a few feet from Roy.

A small, spinning object.

Roy grabbed Hartley by the collar and threw them over the side of the table. The top exploded open, sending shrapnel flying into where they had been hiding only seconds before.

"Out of the frying pan…" Roy turned at Mick's shouted words. The flames coming so quickly Roy didn't have time to even consider how irritating it was that the last thing he would ever hear on this earth was a pun.

A wall of ice suddenly formed in between Roy and Hartley, and Mick's fire. Snart was standing only a few feet away. Alternating between trying to reach his former partner and trying to keep from being murdered by Luthor's robots.

Roy saw a glimpse of Lisa using her gun to turn a robot into a statue. Axel diving behind a counter, his long jacket may have been slightly on fire.

Not to mention Scudder and Dillon were attacking from the Mirror Verse every few minutes. Throwing tops, or trying to grab at any of the Rogues they could.

"We have to pull them out of there. Get Dillon."

"Where the hell is Wally?"

Roy hadn't seen the kid since he started chasing after Shawna. Roy knew the kid wouldn't hurt her. Would bring her back to them unharmed. But there was still the knot in his stomach. The not knowing that was causing him to lose focus.

"My powers are useless against the robots."

Whatever Hartley was going to say, whether it would have been helpful, snide, or a combination of both, was cut off by Hartley being suddenly yanked into the Mirror Verse. Roy hadn't even seen what Scudder used to do it.

He saw the hand coming for him out of the corner of his eye, and was saved from the same fate by a boomerang slicing Scudder's arm.

The man retracted back into the Mirror Verse, no doubt waiting for another opportunity to strike.

Digger was standing just behind Roy.

"He's picking us off one by one, already got Mark, Axel, and Lisa. Though Lisa was tussling with Mick at the time so he got pulled in too."

"There's no point to this Cold. You can't defeat me."

"Hate to break it to you Scudder but you're not the one we're after." Cold was still sending blasts of ice at every window and reflective surface.

Scudder appeared in a window, the only one in the room not covered by Snart's ice.

"What do you think is going to happen here Snart? Your ice can't hurt me in here."

"Who said anything about hurting you?"

Snart froze the window Scudder was standing in. Scudder didn't move, certain he was untouchable inside his created universe.

It must have been quite the shock when Kid Flash ran up to the mirror, reached inside, and pulled Scudder out. Scudder hit the ground, rolling a few times from the sudden impact.

Kid Flash had contacted the STAR Labs team, and they had mentioned something about using cold to pull the Flash out of one of Scudder's mirrors when they tangled with him.

Looks like it still worked.

Digger ran over and grabbed Scudder, putting his blade to the man's throat.

Roy barely has the time to even consider that this plan of theirs might actually work when one of Luthor's androids grabbed him from behind. His arms were pinned back, and no amount of struggling was going to help free him.

Digger still has Scudder but now Dillon has stepped into the real world. She has a gun to Snart's head. She has the leader of the Rogues on his knees, Roy can see metal wires wrapped around the man's legs. She must have tossed a top through while they were focused on grabbing Scudder.

"Let him go Harkness, or I blow your precious leader's brains all over this nice carpet. Ah…don't even think about it Baby Flash. You try to save Snart, that android over there will rip Roy to pieces."

As if to accentuate her point, the android pulled on Roy's arms causing a sound of pain to escape him.

"All right stop. Stop!" Dillon smirks at Wally's plea.

The pressure on Roy's arms diminishes slightly. Digger hasn't removed the blade from Scudder's neck.

"Sorry about this mate. Thought we was really developing a rapport, but your little girlie there has been messing with your head. Can't really afford to walk you through it at the moment…"

"Shut up Harkness. I said let him go or…"

Digger ignores Dillon and looks directly at Snart.

"Boss?"

"Kid, use it on Scudder."

"Use what? What the hell are you talking about Snart?" Dillon's angry retort was drowned out by the sound of Kid Flash suddenly running around Scudder. Digger stepped away from the scene, but kept an eye on Dillon and Roy. Looking for any opening.

Scudder was on his knees a second later. Kid Flash stops running, the device in his hands starts to power down.

"Sammy? What the hell did you do to him?"

"Oh don't worry Rosa, Baby Flash here has just cleared your boyfriend's mind a little."

Kid Flash glared at Cold.

"Really dude? Even with a gun to your head, and me being like the literal only thing that could save you, you're going to keep up with the Baby…"

Wally's indignant response to Cold's use of his nickname was cut off by Scudder looking over at Dillon. The utter confidence the man usually portrayed seemed dimmed. There was pain behind his eyes, a look of confusion.

"Rosa?"

She's startled for a second. Just a second. But long enough that Roy can see the fear in her eyes.

"Sam." Her voice is light. Her tone one of relief.

Scudder looks towards the cylinder in the middle of the room. There's a sudden look of panic in his eyes. It sets Roy's teeth on edge.

"This wasn't…this wasn't the plan. I..."

"Sammy, listen to me baby. Look at me…"

"She's manipulating you Scudder. Her powers can do more than make you nauseous…"

"Shut up Snart! Don't listen to him baby. You know how jealous he is of you. The Rogues are ours now we…"

"You said we would turn them over, then we would…"

"Sammy, baby look at me."

Scudder doesn't look directly at Dillon. Instead he turns towards Digger. The mercenary sheathes the boomerang in his hand. A move that confuses Roy slightly. Digger had been the only one to make any sort of connection with Scudder, but it was tenuous at best. And, he had just been holding a blade to the man's throat not thirty seconds ago.

Roy didn't know how he felt about their lives being in the hands of Digger Harkness' diplomacy skills.

"Told you the skirt was messing with your head mate. She's gone and got you all twisted up, but Baby Flash over there just knocked the cobwebs out. Got you seeing straight again. Got a little techno thingy, undoes her powers. Guessing you been going along with what she said, not doubting nothing. Now you're seeing things different."

Scudder, surprisingly, seemed to believe Digger. There was a hint of anger in his eyes when he looked back at Dillon.

Looked in her direction at least. He was avoiding looking directly into her eyes.

"You…you used your powers on me? Why?" There was real pain in the man's voice.

"Because I love you Sam. Because once I realized what I could do, I knew we could have anything we wanted. I was able to manipulate Lex Luthor! He thought he was offering us a deal to get the chip out of Snart's neck. But I was planting paranoia in his mind. I made him believe that he was on the verge of being found out about Evergreen Acres. That's what all of this is about baby. He's going to take the fall for what happens in Central today. The Rogues, the Flash, all of our enemies would be dead in one move. And we would get away scot free. I tried to tell you baby. I tried to tell you we could be so much more than just thieves."

"I…" Scudder grips his head for a moment. "I…said no…"

"You did. You did baby. But it's only because you couldn't see the big picture. You couldn't see what needed to be done, so that we could truly be free. No more hiding, no more running away. We would have everything we ever talked about, everything we ever dreamed. No one would ever mess with us again. I knew I could do this. I knew we could do this. And once you and I had it all, I would…"

"How many times?"

"Sammy?"

"How many times have you manipulated me like this? How many?"

Dillon took an involuntary step back. She seemed shocked by Scudder's anger.

"I did it for us."

"Why…why would you…"

"You'll understand Sammy. Once it's over. You'll understand."

"You're crazy love."

"Shut the hell up Harkness." She keeps her eyes on Digger. "Look at me." Digger keeps his eyes averted. "Look at me or I blow a hole through Snart's head."

"You're going to do that anyway." Snart's voice was calm.

"Of course I am. But even Harkness here has some strange sense of loyalty to you. Look me in the eyes Digger."

Roy wants to run over and grab her by the throat. He feels his own powers starting to build behind his eyes, the rage. He needed to get her to focus on him. If he could catch her eyes maybe he could…no, she would just kill Snart.

But if Scudder were suddenly to be in danger. Roy turned his head to get a better look at Scudder. The man was still standing slightly to Roy's left, his hands gripping his head.

Prolonged exposure to her psionic powers must be giving him a hell of a headache.

Dillon dug the barrel of her gun into Snart's head, Digger reluctantly looked up. Dillon's eyes flash.

"Scudder." Roy shouted at the man. The other meta turned on instinct. The man's eye's flashed red. He let out what sounded like a growl, then he started to run towards Dillon. She was able to dodge his initial attack, but had to remove the gun from Snart's head.

Snart quickly used his powers on a nearby mirror, allowing Kid Flash to grab the trapped Rogues and pull them back into the real world.

Mardon fell out of a mirror and instantly threw a lightening bolt at Dillon.

The bolt flew between Scudder and Dillon, tossing them both to opposite sides. Dillon looked up with a glare.

"Kill all the Rogues!"

Luthor's robots sprung into action. The one holding Roy's arms tightened their grip. Roy was certain he was seconds away from being ripped in half.

Thankfully, Luthor had yet to find a way to make his robots resistant to being coated in gold.

Lisa completely covered the robot holding Roy, then made quick work of the one heading towards Mick.

Mick, in gratitude, tried to set Lisa on fire.

Shit, Mick and Shawna were still under Dillon's influence.

"Axel, Mardon. Clear out the robots." Cold's voice cut through the chaos. Roy saw Mark's annoyance at being ordered away from his main target of Dillon, but still followed Cold's command.

The Rogues were no longer worried about being detected, so Mark was able to finally let his powers run wild.

The tornado he created just outside the building pulled in all of the drones flying outside.

Axel, to his credit, would not be outdone by something as impressive as a tornado.

He dove right into the fight, throwing his sticky bombs and regular bombs with gusto. Laughing and counting off the number of robots he had destroyed.

"Boom! That's four! How many have you got Mardon? Like one?"

The two of them continued their odd game of one-upmanship outside. He could hear them shouting numbers back and forth at each other.

Roy could only image the havoc those two would create now that they were off their leashes. Didn't have to worry about a No Kill rule when dealing with robots.

Roy saw Dillon out of the corner of his eye. The woman was hesitating at the door.

Scudder was surrounded. Unable to reach any of his mirrors, and now Snart had frozen the man's feet to the ground.

Scudder locked eyes with Dillon.

She turned and ran.

The man screamed in frustration.

Mick used his fire to free Scudder's legs. Scudder pulled a gun from his jacket and fired it at the Snart siblings. Both managed to avoid the shots.

Roy decided Scudder had enough rage and switched emotions. He hit Scudder with a strong dose of fear. The man seized up, frozen in place once again. This time, Hartley came up behind him and used his gauntlets to put the man to sleep.

Hartley pulled a cloth bag out of his cloak and put it over Scudder's head. Then tied the man's hands together.

"Roy get Kid Flash to fix Mick and Shawna, we'll get Dillon." Snart shouted the order as he, Lisa, and Digger chased after the rapidly disappearing blond. She didn't have the ability to disappear now that Scudder was out of the picture for the moment, but that didn't mean she wasn't still a danger.

But that just left Roy, Hartley and Kid Flash to deal with Mick and Shawna.

Still very much under Dillon's control, still very, very pissed off.

Roy didn't want to have to use his powers on Shawna, he didn't want to use them on Mick either.

Though that was mainly borne out of the fact that Mick had threatened on numerous occasions to set Roy on fire if he ever used his powers on him for any reason.

Shawna was still disappearing and reappearing all over the warehouse, Kid Flash was chasing her. Only milliseconds from catching her each time.

Leaving Hartley and Roy to deal with Mick.

"Figured you'd fall in with the traitor."

Mick is going to try and set him on fire regardless of what Roy did. Might as well do something to actually warrant it.

Roy tries to keep himself calm as he stares at Mick, the lightest of blues flashes through Mick's eyes.

Roy was prepared for a great many things as a Rogue. Being attacked by robots and clones and other metahumans had, he thought, given him a sort of immunity to being surprised.

He was completely wrong.

Mick looked down at the fire swirling around his hands.

Then proceeded to set himself on fire.

Roy stood in complete shock. He heard Hartley curse, that at least gave Roy some slap of reality. He released Mick from his power. Though the man was still standing transfixed. It was his left leg that was on fire at the moment.

Thankfully Roy knew Mick wore relatively fireproof clothing.

Even more thankfully was that Hartley knew the exact frequency to set his gauntlets, to put the fire out.

And knock Mick to the ground. Unconscious.

"Shit."

Roy didn't know what else to say. He had seen the way Mick looked at the fire encompassing him. Even after Roy's powers weren't influencing him. He looked as though...as though he had always wondered what it would look like. To burn himself to ash.

"Guess Mick wasn't kidding when he said never to use your powers on him."

"I..."

Jesus.

That's why Mick never wanted Roy to use his calming powers on him. Because if Mick didn't care, if nothing really mattered...

Then all that would be left was the fire.

And the fire would win.

He shouldn't have…

"He's not even slightly burned. Fire didn't get through his jeans."

Hartley was avoiding looking at Roy. Focusing solely on Mick.

But he knew what the kid was doing. He was trying to make Roy feel better.

The kid hadn't spoken to him directly since they started working together, outside of necessity. There hadn't been the time. Or maybe there had been. Maybe in between the hours Hartley had been working on the device, or they had been planning out their attack, there could have been time to talk.

Maybe they'd both been avoiding it.

Afraid of what the other would say.

"Hart..."

Kid Flash reappeared with a struggling Shawna in his arms.

"Piper, the device!"

Hartley pulled a second device out of his cloak and tossed it to Kid Flash. He ran around Shawna, repeating what he had done to Mark.

Five seconds felt like an eternity.

The blur that was the speedster left Shawna and circled around Mick.

Roy watched in morbid fascination as Shawna looked up at him.

"Roy?"

Shawna stumbled slightly and Roy moved forward to grab her arm. She was looking at him with confusion in her eyes.

"I…"

Roy didn't get the chance to say anything, didn't get the chance to tell her anything he wanted to say. To ask her if she was all right.

To ask her if she forgave him. He wasn't even sure if he had anything to apologize for. He just wanted to say it.

As many times as was necessary.

The machine that Dillon had set up in the middle of the building was beeping. The strange white cylinder had sat, relatively forgotten during their fighting. There had just been so much else to focus on. Now, the lights on the side were flashing, keeping an odd tempo with the beeping.

There was something inside of the tube. Roy could almost make out a human form.

Mick had regained his feet at some point. Roy didn't dare look the man in the eyes. He was not sure how he was going to apologize to Mick for that. Maybe he would just avoid looking at Mick all together. Forever.

Mick didn't even look in Roy's direction, his eyes focused on the cylinder.

"We gotta go, now."

Kid Flash was standing next to Mick. Still keeping an eye on the pyromaniac. Within arm's reach in case the device hadn't worked. He kept a wary eye on Mick, but turned most of his attention towards the mysterious beeping machine.

"What is that thing?"

"One of Luthor's experiments. He got his hands on Nimbus, back when they snatched everybody up. Put Nimbus' powers in over a dozen people. They froze them inside these pods. Once they're defrosted, their powers will go haywire. Way they're set up, the poison will cover all of Central City."

"We have to stop them! Shut them down or maybe I can…"

Kid Flash tries to touch the pod and is shocked by an electrical force. It knocks him backwards.

"There are fail safes."

"Could have said that a second ago." Hartley helped Kid Flash stand. Mick looked unrepentant.

"Could have."

"How long do we have until it opens?"

As if sensing the inconvenience of the moment, the pod begins to open. Roy watches as the person inside becomes less and less of a person. Their form quickly changing into the all too familiar green gas.

Kid Flash grabs the assembled Rogues, and Scudder, and speeds them out of the building. They stop in the middle of Central City Park.

"Sort of out in the open here Kid."

"Do you know the locations of the other pods? Maybe I can…"

"She had me helping with the trigger system. Had it so they all opened at the same time."

"Damn it. Alright, Hartley and I are going to get to STAR Labs see if the others can't help us track these things, at least minimize the damage. You guys contact the other Rogues, see if Cold has any ideas. If they have Dillon, see if she has a shut down code."

"That all boss?"

Kid Flash rolled his eyes at Mick's sarcastic use of the word boss.

"Keep in contact. And see if you can get Scudder to tell you anything."

They were gone instantly.

Kid Flash had sounded sure of himself, even seemed to have a semi decent plan. But Roy considered himself more of a realist.

"Not going to be enough time for them to find away to stop the poison before it sweeps through the city."

Mick looks over at Shawna.

"Get us out of here."

Shawna is about to teleport them when Lisa's voice suddenly comes through Roy's headset.

"Roy, Baby Flash just told us what happened? Where are you?"

"Central City Park."

"You still have Scudder?"

"Yea…"

"Tell him to open portals in every single window in Central."

"What?"

"Lenny thinks we need to earn a little good will with the locals."

"Don't think he's going to be excited about this." Scudder was lying listlessly on the ground.

"Tell Mick to convince him."

"Got it."

Roy relays the information to Mick and Shawna.

Mick doesn't hesitate, he rips the bag off of Scudder's head, and yanks the man to his feet.

Scudder looks like he's about to say something but Mick punches the man, knocking him back to the ground.

"If it were up to me, you'd be a pile of ash right now."

"I didn't know what Rosa was doing…"

"Guilty by association. Cops have used that on me dozens of times."

The sound of screaming is suddenly all around them. Roy thinks for a moment, that perhaps the Rogues standing in the middle of Central City Park was the cause of such alarm. But then he sees several people running as fast as they can in every direction.

"The poison is starting to spread."

Roy can see the green mist starting to move through the buildings. People tripping over each other, coughing and choking as they try to outrun the mist. It will do them little good, as Roy can now see it coming at them from every direction.

Mick grabs Scudder by the jacket and slams him against the nearest tree.

"Is this what you wanted asshole? Genocide?"

There's a thin line of blood running down Scudder's nose from Mick's punch. His eyes are wild, looking at the rapidly encroaching poison.

"We have to…we have to get out of here."

"No shit! And you're going to be the one to do it."

"What? I mean, of course. I'll…I can get all of us out of here…"

Scudder starts to try to pull away as though he can get to a nearby window in time. Mick holds the man fast in his place.

"You misunderstand Mick. He doesn't just mean the Rogues."

Scudder looks at Roy for a second, the disbelief in his eyes flits momentarily to panic.

"You're crazy. I can't pull the entire city into the mirror verse."

"You're going to do it or…"

"I'm telling you, I can't. Even if I could, the people would have to go into it themselves, I can't yank them all at once."

"You appeared in multiple mirrors…"

"A dozen mirrors and tens of thousands are completely different. And let's say I manage this spectacular feat. Then what? If the strain kills me, you'll all be trapped in there. If it doesn't kill me, then my powers will be maxed out and I'll be just as stuck…"

Mick tightens his grip and shoves Scudder harder against the tree.

"Either you do this or you won't live long to choke on the gas. I'll snap your neck right here."

Scudder is just staring at Mick.

"I can't do this. Get it through your thick skull. I…"

A boomerang embeds itself in the tree right beside Scudder's head.

"Whoops. Sorry about that mate. Me aim's a bit off recently. Easy there Mick, the man is going to help us."

Digger pushes Mick's arms down and throws an arm around Scudder's shoulders.

"Sammy here is going to be more than happy to help us. Isn't that right Sammy?"

Scudder seems unnerved by Digger's sudden friendliness more than he was by Mick's threats.

"I told them I can't…"

"See mate, that's your problem there. You let that pretty little skirt of yours mess your head up and now you don't think you can do anything. I'm betting you got this in you. What do you think Shawna? You think old Sammy here can pull it off?"

"I'm thinking he doesn't have a choice."

"See and that's Shawna saying it! So, best get ready, cause if you miss Snart's signal after I already told him you agreed to do this, well it's both our assess innit?"

The three assembled Rogues glared at Digger. Digger just shrugged.

"What? Figure if he doesn't then we're all dead anyway right? So what's it matter if I stretched the truth a bit?"

Roy rolls his eyes.

It doesn't escape his notice that Digger has yet to let go of the other man, and is currently holding a razor sharp boomerang uncomfortably close to Scudders stomach.

Scudder closes his eyes.

"You're all insane."

"Yea, but it's fun isn't it? Come on then, off you pop."

Digger all but shoves Scudder towards the closest reflective surface. It's a small metal slide.

Scudder puts his hand on the slide. Roy can see the slight movement in the metal, signaling that it is now a portal.

Scudder has his eyes closed, concentrating on what he is doing. Roy can see the way the veins in the man's neck are straining. Roy turns and sees all the metal around them start to shimmer.

Roy reaches up to touch his earpiece when he feels that slight wind that signals the approach of a speedster. He feels a pressure on his back and less than an instant later, he finds himself inside the Mirror Verse again.

Scudder turned all the reflective surfaces in Central into portals and the Flashes were running through the city, pushing everyone in.

Roy could feel the familiar, not ground underneath his feet. He looked up to make sure the other Rogues were still with him when he realized he was still standing in the park.

Except…

He wasn't.

This was clearly the Mirror Verse, but instead of the dark, endless empty space, Roy was standing in Central City Park. The trees, the slide, it was all here. Roy could see all the buildings surrounding the park, the people who had been running and screaming on moments earlier now standing around in confusion.

When Scudder opened every portal, somehow he managed to recreate Central City itself within the Mirror Verse.

If it wasn't for the fact that everything here seemed so dull, Roy might think it was still Central City. But there was still that oddness to the place, a sense of unreality you could only feel in the Mirror Verse. It looked real, but it never felt real. There was no substance to anything around you.

Just pale reflections of a world just out of your reach.

"Can't believe the asshole actually did it." Mick reached a hand out and touched the metal slide. Roy could hear the strange metallic ding as Mick tapped his hand against it.

"You think he's dead?"

Roy looked down at Digger's feet. Scudder was lying on the ground, there was a fair amount of blood flowing out of the man's nose and ears.

Maybe even a little out of his eyes.

They're closed. Roy can't really tell if the man is breathing.

"He had better not be, I don't plan to live in this pale reflection forever."

Roy turned at Snart's voice.

Cold and Mardon were heading for them.

"How'd you know where we were?"

"Scudder managed to recreate the entire city. Everything is here. Figured you were still in the park since that's where Lisa said you were. Dillon managed to slip away, but she has to be here somewhere as well. The whole city is milling about, figured it was time for us to regroup before…"

"Don't move!"

The sirens sounded like a strange reverberation instead of the normal high pitched whine. Dozens of cops were pouring out of every alleyway. The Rogues suddenly found themselves completely surrounded.

"Now, now gentlemen, let's all just calm down before…"

A cop fires, the bullet hits a tree just inches from Cold's head.

"Well. That felt a little personal."

"Hold your fire! I said hold it!"

Roy recognizes the cop that starts walking towards them. It was that Captain that had tackled him off the stage at Jesse's ambush.

"Whatever you've done Cold you need to..."

"What I've done Captain Signh, is saved the lives of every single person in this city. See, right now, that poison gas is filtering through every single home, hospital, school, and police station in the city. If we hadn't pulled you and your little merry band of idiots into the Mirror Verse, you'd all be dead."

"Why would you do that? Save us? What's in it for you?"

"Besides not coughing up all my liquefied organs? Let's just say the Rogues are tired of being blamed for every single attack. Since the police have ignored all of our attempts to prove our innocence, we thought you might be more amenable to listening…"

"Saving us now, doesn't change the people you killed in Metropolis. Not to mention you could be responsible for this attack as well. The Rogues are always nearby when…"

"It's like I'm talking to myself. Am I talking to myself Mick? Can they not hear me?"

"Talking to a cop. Same as talking to yourself."

Roy smiled a little. Cold gave a full on smirk. It was the first time since everything that he and Mick had interacted without one of them on the ground and bleeding.

Taunting cops together.

That's the way it's supposed to be.

"Listen Snart…"

"No, you listen Captain. The Rogues just saved your lives and as soon as the poison clears and Sam here decides to wake up from his little nap. We will throw everyone back out where they belong. But until then, I suggest you keep your men away. Because if anything happens to us. None of you will ever leave here."

Shawna takes Snart's cue and teleports them all away.

Roy will forever be envious of how Snart manages to plan it so that he always gets the last word.

They're inside the reflection of one of their old safe houses.

It looks exactly like Roy remembers it, impressive considering the Rogues haven't been here in over a year.

"How's Scudder?"

"Pretty sure he's still alive."

Shawna bends down to check on the still unconscious meta.

"He's breathing and he's got a pulse. Don't know how long it will take him to recover enough so we can get out of here."

"Well I'm in no hurry to get back out there." Digger flopped down into a nearby chair. Wincing slightly when he pulled his still healing chest wound. Shawna rolled her eyes at him.

"You idiot, we will die in here after a few days. Nothing in here is real. Which means no food, and no water."

Snart bent down beside Scudder and slapped him across the face. The man didn't so much as twitch.

"Well. I guess he isn't faking it."

"Your bedside manner leaves something to be desired brother dear."

Lisa and Axel come striding in, both looking a bit disappointed. Roy assumed it had something to do with the fact that they didn't manage to capture Dillon.

Roy can't really say he cares too much at the moment. The Rogues are finally all back together. Roy thinks this might be the most relaxed he's felt in months.

"He's lucky I don't kill him right now for all of this."

"Now, now the poor man was just a pawn. You saw the way Dillon was playing him. Same way she played us."

Roy rubbed the back of his neck. The aftereffects of what Dillon had done to the Rogues had yet to be discussed.

It seems like they all realized it at the same time.

They should say something about it. About the attacks, the anger, the infighting. Deep seated pains brought to the surface, used to twist and claw at them. How the Rogues almost tore each other apart.

Mick snorts, breaking the silence. He looks over at Snart.

"You still punch like shit."

Snart smirks.

"What can I say, pugilism was never one of my many talents."

"Not as bad as Mardon trying to knock me head off with one of the weakest right hooks I've ever seen."

"You had stabbed me with a boomerang! Next time, I'll be ready and I'll hit you with everything I've got."

"Ohh, I'm shaking in my boots mate."

Roy feels himself relax. He sits down on the couch while Mardon and Digger bicker. The familiarity of the sound more comforting than it should be. Probably more so than any normal person should find the sound of grown men threatening to kill one another in increasingly elaborate and graphic ways.

Shawna sits down beside him.

She doesn't say anything. Doesn't move into his space. Doesn't drape an arm around his shoulders or rest her feet on his legs. She's keeping a distance between them that Roy notices immediately. Giving him the personal space he always wants.

He hates it.

Roy reaches over and puts his hand on top of hers.

She scoots over until her side is pressed against his. She leans her head onto his shoulders. Roy keeps his hand firmly locked with hers.

The Rogues were never particularly good at saying the things they needed to say. About getting it all out with their words.

Hell, most of his life, Roy had relied entirely on his painting in order to express what he felt. In order to interact with a world that didn't seem to understand what he was trying to say.

Or simply didn't care.

He never thought he'd find the kind of people that would understand without having to say anything.

They stay at the safe house for a few hours. Axel finds a radio and gets it working. There's a broadcast. Sounds like the Flash and his buddies have put something together to try and keep people calm.

"… _are safe. Do not panic. Do not attempt to break mirrors. This will not get you back into the real world. We are working on a way to get everyone back out, but until then, please stay where you are. We will broadcast the plan as soon as_ …"

"Think they'll figure out a way to get us out of here?"

"Hopefully, just in case Scudder doesn't wake up."

"What are we going to do with him?"

"If he gets us out of here, then I'm willing to entertain the idea of letting him live."

"Really? "

"The past is the past sis. If he can let it…"

"OMG. Wait, wait. Please. Just give me like two point five seconds."

Axel pulls out his phone and points it at the Snart siblings.

"Ok, can you start over and then finish that sentence."

"Axel."

"Come on dude! I know you were just about to quote some Frozen stuff. Do you have any idea how many hits I would get if I had a video of Captain Cold saying let it go? Actually can you like, sort of sing just…"

"Axel!"

"What I'm telling you man we…"

"Axel. Sweetie. Put the phone away or you're going to find it stuck somewhere very uncomfortable."

Axel frowns, more at the mental image than the actual threat.

"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine."

Axel gives what can only be described as a pout, then puts his phone back into his pocket.

"Spoilsports. Never let me have any fun."

A low moan from the ground stops the interplay between Axel and Lisa.

Lisa wanders over and bends down beside Scudder on the ground.

The man is attempting to open his eyes. He looks pale, not helped by the fact that they hadn't bothered to clean any of the blood off of his face.

None of them had been willing to do anything to help the man.

"Wake up Sammy."

"Wha…"

"Open your eyes. That's it. Just a little more."

Scudder slowly opens his eyes. He blinks owlishly at Lisa. Scudder tries to move his head, only to realize he is surrounded by Rogues.

"I did…I did what…"

"You did. Such a good boy. You saved all of Central City. It's a good first step in keeping yourself alive. Whether or not you live past this moment is going to depend on a few things."

"Such as?"

Scudder was a little more alert now. He brought a hand up to his face and rubbed at the dried blood. He pulled his fingers back and seemed incredibly annoyed at the dirt and blood mixed together. He started to pull at his tie.

Lisa rolls her eyes.

"Listen Sam. I understand you have a bit of a thing about looking your best. So here's what I'm willing to do. Answer a few questions and I'll get you a nice damp cloth to wipe yourself off with."

"I'm not a child. You don't have to…"

Lisa pulls her gun in an instant. The tip of it pressed against his chin.

"Listen here sweetheart. Normally, I would have killed you by now. Trying to kill my brother, turning the Rogues against each other, making me ruin a perfectly good outfit with robot oil and blood. But seeing as there are extenuating circumstances, I'm willing to let you keep breathing. So if you want to keep that pretty face of yours I suggest you answer my questions."

Scudder's eyes were locked onto Lisa's. No doubt the man could see the seriousness in her eyes.

"I told them. I don't know anything about Luthor's plan or what Rosa did to him. I didn't…I didn't know she could do that. She…"

"We've all got a shitty ex somewhere in our pasts. Remind me to tell you about this boy named Blaine one day. Now, it's rude to talk about your girl to another lady so how about we just chat about the things I'm interested in."

Roy wondered about the type of man that would be able to keep up with Lisa Snart. He can't imagine there are many in the world.

"Your powers. Can you still access them?"

Scudder attempts to push himself to his feet. But Lisa keeps him in place by not moving the gun from where she has it lodged against his neck.

"You don't have to stand to talk. You just lay right there and do as you're told."

"More interrogating, less flirting sis."

"Aw Lenny. Haven't you heard of mixing business with pleasure?"

Cold gives her a glare. Lisa blows him a kiss and turns back to Scudder.

"This is why I never bring a chaperone on a date. Never let you have any real fun."

"I…I need to touch a reflective surface, see if…"

Lisa pulled off her watch and tossed it to him. Then she grabbed onto his tie and pulled on it firmly.

"Don't get any ideas about trying to slip away now. It'd be rude to run out on a girl."

Scudder puts a hand on the face of the watch. He closes his eyes. Roy can see fresh blood start to come out of the man's nose.

Scudder makes a pained noise then falls backwards. His head hits the ground and he lays there with his eyes closed taking deep pained breaths.

"I'm going to take that as a no."

Lisa releases Scudder's tie and stands up.

"Looks like we are going to have to find another way out of here."

"Hm. Rathaway." Snart touched his earpiece, attempting to contact Hartley and Kid Flash, see if they had made any progress on how to get out of the Mirror Verse.

Hartley's annoyed voice came over the coms less than a second after Snart spoke.

"Finally! We have been trying to reach you idiots for hours. Did you have your coms turned off? Or were you just ignoring us? You know what, don't answer that."

"Any word on the poison gas?"

"Caitlin and I have determined that the gas should be completely gone from the city within the hour. The metas, no matter how much Luthor messed with them, can't stay in the gaseous state for extended periods of time. They should either have maxed out their powers or be dead from overexertion by now. What? It's not morbid, it's the truth."

Roy could hear faint arguing in the background. No doubt the rest of Team Flash wanting to know what the Rogues were saying.

"Scudder's maxed out, he can't reopen the portals to let us all back out."

"I assumed as much. What about your powers? Do you think you could manage some subzero temperatures?"

"I could. Though I doubt I could do it over the entire city."

"You won't need to, we have a radio signal and have been in constant contact with the police department. We are going to have people come into groups around the city, extraction points. You will need to freeze approximately…17 different locations. Once they reach the required temperature, the Flashes will start zipping everyone through and we can leave this nightmare world behind us."

"Mardon can help, he might not be able to produce the same temperatures, but he could use his powers to widen the effects of mine."

"Hm. An absolute zero windstorm could effectively freeze a wider range and then we wouldn't only need…9 locations. Alright. We will send you the details…"

"Not doing anything until we get some assurances from the cops."

"What? They won't…"

"One of them tried to shoot me less than two hours ago."

"Fine. I'll get an agreement, in writing, since I know what a stickler you are and we will get on with saving the entire city. Unless you have a better idea? No? I didn't think so. Leave your coms on this time."

Hartley's voice cut off. Snart relayed the details of the plan to the members of the Rogues who didn't have their coms.

Mick looked over at Snart.

"Gonna be exposed. Don't know what will happen once we get back out in the real world."

"No we don't, which is why I want you, Lisa, Shawna, and Axel to go with Team Flash. You three are going to be the first people back through the mirrors. Once in the real world, don't say anything, just teleport away. Get to the safe house on LaMonte. Should still be intact. If you don't hear anything from us within the day…"

"Know the drill at this point boss."

Snart smirked.

"I know."

There was a quiet moment between the two partners. One, Roy almost felt awkward in witnessing. Axel, on the other hand, felt no such shame.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Axel was chanting and pumping his fist in the air. Mardon smacked the kid on the back of the head.

Snart simply ignored the young Rogues' antics.

"Alright, Mardon and I will be focused on freezing the mirrors and have to physically go to each extraction point. Digger, you will keep an eye on Scudder. Roy, I need you ready in case the cops decide to do anything stupid. Hit them with all the fear and panic you've got."

"Not that hard to access any more."

"The three of you will go to the last point, once Mardon and I show up, we will regroup and then head out together. We will let the rest of you know when we are back and Shawna can come and retrieve us."

Captain Cold looked all the assembled Rogues. Back on the same page. Ready to fight whoever they had to to keep each other safe.

He didn't need to say anything. They all felt it.

They were ready for anything.

They split into their teams. Roy found himself having difficulty letting go of Shawna's hand at first. She had smiled and given him a kiss on the cheek.

"See you on the other side Raider."

Then they were gone.

Snart and Mardon headed to the first extraction point as well, while Digger, Roy and Scudder headed to the last one. They hid in a nearby building, watching as thousands of nervous people stood around in the street.

It wasn't long before Snart and Mardon made an appearance. The nervous people looked even more so at the presence of the Rogues. Roy watched from the window as Kid Flash started running all of the people through the frozen side of the large glass building. Roy thought it was a bank or something.

Hartley was there as well. Helping to keep people calm with his music.

Eventually it was just Kid Flash, Hartley, Cold, and Mardon. Digger gave Roy a nod, and they proceeded out of the building to join the others.

"Alright, time to out of this place. Mardon…"

Mark nodded and walked through the glass.

Cold turned to Digger, the mercenary had a strong grip on Scudder. He was about to march the man through the glass when something landed right next to him.

"A top!" Kid Flash ran forward, he managed to pick the top off the ground and get it away from Scudder, Digger, and Cold. But he didn't have time to disarm it. A strong electric current wrapped around the speedster, knocking him to the ground. Roy was the closest and ran over to Kid Flash.

The kid was still conscious, though he looked a little out of it.

"Sam!"

Roy had to give Dillon this much, she was persistent.

The woman had a gun to Hartley's head. Cold was glaring at the petite blond.

"Dillon..."

"Shut up Snart. Sammy, come over here baby. We can leave them in the Mirror Verse to die. Start over..."

"How can I trust you, after how you manipulated me?"

"For your own good. I know how stubborn you can be baby. You know how stubborn you can be. You have to trust me, it was all for us. For both of us. Getting Luthor out of the way, the Rogues, it would have put us in charge. We would have run the whole world."

Roy can see Scudder wavering. He clearly still loved Dillon, that much hadn't been manipulation. Hell, Roy was convinced Rosa actually did love Scudder. In her own twisted way. Everything she had done, she had done for the both of them.

Cold grabbed the back of Scudder's jacket. Halting the man's forward momentum.

"What a touching reunion. However, we aren't staying long. Let Rathaway go, and let us leave, or I'll freeze his pretty face off."

"Let him go or I'll kill Rathaway."

"You really picked the wrong hostage here."

"Shut up."

Hartley looked more inconvenienced by his damsel status than afraid. It made Roy smile. Kid Flash shifted, up onto his knees, his feet almost underneath him.

"Sorry Dillon, but I don't negotiate with people who have no intention of keeping their end of the bargain."

Before Roy's eyes could really process what had happened, Hartley was standing next to him. There was a blur of movement around Dillon. Kid Flash was using the device on her.

He stops suddenly and Dillon falls over.

Kid Flash looks over at them, stumbling slightly. Though Hartley gets an arm over the kid's shoulders, helping steady the wounded speedster.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

Scudder kept his eyes on Dillon the entire time. Pulling against Digger in an attempt to get closer to her. Snart moved towards Dillon, but Kid Flash stepped in front of him.

"I got her." The kid didn't look like he could stand on his own, let alone fight Captain Cold. But Snart just smirked and stepped aside.

"By all means."

Roy found his hatred of the Mirror Verse grew with every trip there. Hopefully that would be their last foray into that wretched place.

Mardon was glaring at them when they finally appeared.

"What took you assholes so long?"

"We come bearing gifts."

Cold moved so that Mardon could see as Kid Flash all but dragged Dillon through the reflective surface. Snart put a quick hand on Mardon's chest.

"Not yet. Head to the top of the building, make sure none of Luthor's drones are coming in for an ambush."

Mardon glared, but did as he was told. He gave Dillon one last look then flew to the top of the nearby building.

"Now." Kid Flash was breathing heavily. "You have a lot to answer..." The kid stopped abruptly, the look on his face was...confusion. No, it was something else.

Guilt.

Scudder ripped himself away from Digger's grasp.

"Rosa!" Scudder ran over to the woman now lying prostrate on the ground. He cradled her head in his arms. Brushed her hair away from her face.

Roy can see…there's…something wrong with her eyes.

"Come on baby. Answer me."

She's mumbling. Indistinct words. Words that only mean something to her.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Scudder is glaring at Wally.

The kid looks horrified.

"I didn't…it wasn't supposed to…"

"Come on Rosa baby. It's going to be alright. You and me. That's the way it always is. You and me. Just wake up baby. Just wake up." The woman doesn't respond to anything Scudder says.

Roy doubted she was aware of anything happening around her.

Scudder lifts Dillon off the ground. Carrying her in his arms. She looks so small compared to him.

Scudder turns his gaze towards Kid Flash.

"You'll pay for this."

Scudder lifted an arm, his hand outstretched. Roy looked over and saw Wally attempting to move. Somehow Scudder was keeping the speedster in place. Scudder was only inches from the closest window.

"Stop him!"

Roy sees Digger pull a boomerang at Cold's command. He throws it at Scudder.

And misses.

Scudder is gone through a nearby mirror within an instant. He takes Dillon with him.

"Damn it." Cold is glaring at Digger.

Digger just shrugs.

"Sorry bossman. Aim's been off."

Cold doesn't look like he believes Digger. Roy's not even sure he believes him. But there's nothing to do now.

"Why…why did that happen to her? It…"

Hartley puts a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"We calculated it for the real world. Doing it in the Mirror Verse, must have had unintended consequences. There was no way we could have predicted that would happen."

Wally doesn't look in any way comforted by this.

"I…"

"Don't beat yourself up about it kid. Dillon made her choices. She's lucky you got to her before I did."

Cold would have frozen her and shattered her to a million pieces if he had the chance.

"Death or insanity. Those couldn't have been the only two ways to deal with her."

"Well, maybe Scudder will find a way to bring her back around. Maybe he's got a medical degree we don't know about." Hartley's attempts at cheering up Wally were slightly undercut by his clear lack of experience with comforting people.

"Yea…I…there's a lot of scared people. I gotta go."

The kid disappears instantly.

Leaving the assembled Rogues standing there. Hartley is looking at Cold. Cold looks back, his face unreadable.

"Looks like you've found yourself a new team."

Hartley takes a step towards Cold.

The kid sticks out his hand.

"I'd say stay out of trouble, but…"

Cold smiles. He takes Hartley's hand and shakes it.

"I'd tell you to stay out of our way but…"

Hartley smiles in return.

Cold turns and walks away.

Digger slaps Hartley on the shoulder, Hartley glares at the mercenary. It only makes Digger smile wider.

Suddenly it is just Roy and Hartley standing there. It was always in the quiet moments when things seemed to fall apart with the Rogues. Working together to stop Dillon and Luthor was one thing. Now that that was over…

"I brought Cisco."

Roy turned abruptly. He didn't see the engineer anywhere.

"What?"

"At STAR Labs, when you texted me to meet with you. You were going to tell me that Cold might be alive. But I brought Cisco. At first I thought that you didn't tell me then because you wanted to punish me for choosing them. Because I was leaving the Rogues. But now I don't believe that is it. However I can't figure out why."

Roy sighed.

"Piper..."

"No. Whatever your reasons. You are going to tell me. I won't have Digger Harkness knowing something I don't. It goes against the very laws of the universe."

Roy smiled slightly at that.

"You wanted out."

Hartley raised an eyebrow.

"I...suppose I did. That doesn't explain why you..."

"You were already feeling guilty for Cold's death. If I told you he was still alive...you would have come back to the Rogues. Would have stayed, even if you didn't want to. You never would have left again."

Hartley's face was unreadable. Roy figures that will be the end of it. Hartley's a genius, he might come to some other conclusion. Might think that Roy is saying that now, just to get Hartley to take it easy on them from now on.

"Did you Harry and the Hendersons' me?"

Roy looked at him.

"What?"

"It was this movie from the 90s, a family finds a sasquatch and..."

"I did you get a concussion in the Mirror Verse? Are you having a stroke?"

"...And, the sasquatch wants to stay with the family, but the government is trying to get it. So they release him back into the woods, but he doesn't want to leave. So the dad basically yells at Harry to leave, that they don't want him there anymore, because they know the sasquatch will be better off in the woods."

Roy stared in silence for a moment.

"How long have you been hanging out with Cisco that you are already making these kinds of references? There isn't some obscure English literature you could have quoted at me instead?"

Hartley laughed slightly.

"Screw you. I loved that movie as a kid."

There was silence for a moment.

"Heroes and thieves can't be friends Hartley."

"Says who?"

"The police, primarily, I would think."

"Roy...if the Rogues rob a bank or steal an exhibit from the Central Museum, then I am going to do everything in my power to stop you. And let's face it, I will be able to catch you..."

"I think we have a better track record than Team Flash."

"My point is...if you aren't robbing banks, and you aren't in prison...I don't see why anyone needs to know about us hanging out."

"Kid...first thing they tell you when you get out is to avoid your old friends, get rid of old habits. Avoid the people who got you thrown in prison in the first place."

"The Rogues weren't the reason I became the Pied Piper. Harrison Wells, one of the so-called good guys, was. The Rogues kept me sane after all that...they were a family when I needed one the most."

Roy looked at Hartley. The kid meant it. Sincerity wasn't something Hartley expressed often, but there was no doubting it when he did.

Maybe they couldn't ever go back.

Maybe nothing would ever be the same.

Didn't mean they couldn't figure out a new way forward.

Roy smirks.

"I suppose it's a good thing you got out of the Rogues now...before the others found out about your terrible taste in movies. They would have been merciless."

"How dare you. You've never even seen it!"

Roy took a tentative step forward. Intent on at least shaking Piper's hand. Hartley surprised him by turning the handshake into a hug.

Roy felt himself smile.

"Definitely hanging out with the heroes too long." But Roy didn't make any move to pull away.

After a few moments, Hartley stepped back.

"Watch their backs Roy. Those idiots would be dead a hundred times over without us. Especially Digger."

"I am aware of that."

Roy didn't know how all of this was going to go. The cops might have been willing to trust them when they were trapped in the Mirror Verse, but they were in the real world again. How long before the manhunt was back on? Then there was Luthor. If he was still under Dillon's influence there was no telling what he might do next.

Still.

Roy couldn't help but feel…optimistic about what came next. A sensation he was completely unfamiliar with. And clearly had no basis in reality or in the context of their history.

But, despite what had been and what would come next, the Rogues were still kicking. Still breathing.

And as long as they were breathing.

They would be fighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was 8k words into this when I realized how much I still had to add for it to make sense. I got a bit disheartened and didn't work on it for weeks. There is just a (hopefully) much shorter epilogue left.


	10. Chapter 10

Roy was certain, especially considering the events of the past few years, that there were many people out there who considered the Rogues evil.

He could understand it, he supposed, in an abstract sort of way. Even before they were blamed for a terrorist attack, they were criminals. And there were a good many, fine upstanding people who considered all criminals evil.

Break the law in any way, from stealing a candy bar to killing a man. Somehow, both crimes were the same. Both people beyond redemption.

Which, and this was based on only the vaguest of memories from when he was a child, wasn't exactly what he remembered being taught in church.

True he had only gone four or five times, and only on Christmas. So maybe he didn't have the firmest grasp on Christianity.

His only real education on the subject was in art school. When they would study the masters and see how they were inspired by angels and demons alike.

Bosch's paintings on the subject were always particularly disturbing.

So maybe he was wrong. Maybe those who called all criminals evil were just following the good book to the letter.

He knew he wasn't evil though. Nor were any of the rest of the Rogues.

And this he only knew because he had met evil men. James Jesse, the Reverse Flash. Those were evil men.

You could see it in their eyes. You could hear it in their voices. Something lurking just beneath the surface.

Lex Luthor was a different type of evil.

Mainly because, even standing only a few feet from him, Roy didn't feel that same certainty.

Luthor didn't have the madness of Jesse.

Or the righteous cruelty of the Reverse Flash.

Luthor seemed like the type of man who would try to get a barista fired for misspelling his name on his Starbucks cup.

Not the type of man who plotted massive terrorist attacks, and could have you killed with the snap of his fingers.

His suit was impeccably cut and probably cost more than every apartment Roy had ever owned put together. There were no paintings or large pieces of furniture. No rare plants or antiquities lined the room. Nothing that Luthor could point to that would start a monologue about an ancient civilization and how it related to their current situation.

There was no sense of personality to the space. No indication that the man in front of him was anything other than some business mogul who just happened to own the entire building.

Roy had never met anyone who seemed so…indifferent.

And not just about the entirety of the Rogues suddenly appearing around his desk, inside of his highly secured office, all with clear murderous intent.

Waller had been the same way. But in her case, it had been a practiced look. The head of an organization like ARGUS couldn't be surprised by every little thing.

With Luthor, it was though he would have reacted the same way if they had all appeared naked, holding a birthday cake, and dancing a jig.

Luthor didn't have to practice at his disinterest.

The man was born indifferent to those around him.

To those beneath him.

"I must say Mr. Snart, I was expecting you sooner."

"You'll forgive us busting in like this. We would have made an appointment but I swear, I think your secretary is avoiding our calls."

"I don't have a secretary. I have an advanced AI that…"

"Well that explains it. I thought the voice sounded a bit robotic, but who can tell these days. Not to mention our schedule has been a bit hectic as of late. What with Saks' auction next month, and Axel's birthday is coming up, he is oddly hard to shop for, and oh yes, the attempted destruction of Central City."

"Yes. A terrible tragedy. It's lucky that many more weren't killed. I've already prepared a statement and will be giving it this afternoon."

"That's gotta be one hell of a speech. Tell me do you have minions who are going to be standing beside you holding weapons. A Luthor flag prominently displayed behind you? I know how you terrorists like to show strength in these things."

Luthor barely glanced up from the paperwork on his desk.

"No such fanfare will be necessary. It is a fairly straightforward press conference, simply laying out the facts of what occurred. Would you like me to read it to you?"

"Not really in the mood for another super villain monologue. Dillon already had her moment."

"Yes. I saw that on the news. Poor woman. It is…quite the story, what you have all endured because of her."

Snart narrowed his eyes but didn't move from his perch on the edge of Luthor's desk. Roy didn't like the way this was going. The way Luthor was so calm, especially considering the way Mick was glaring at the man. The fire from his gauntlets wrapping around his arms, rippling up and down in an odd rhythm. Digger was standing by the entrance. Casually sharpening a boomerang, but ready in case anyone tried to bust in.

Shawna was standing on one side of Roy, Mark on the other. No doubt both of them wanting to simply kill the man and be done with it. Snart's orders the only thing keeping them in place.

Axel was only a few steps from Digger. Keeping surveillance off of them, while simultaneously trying to hack into Luthor's system. Steal anything they could to bury Luthor with.

Figuratively of course.

Lisa was no doubt thinking literally. She was a step to her brother's left. While Cold had let go of his gun, portraying a casualness to the conversation. Lisa's hand never left hers. It was in her holster, but barely.

Snart hadn't tried to convince them that someone needed to stay behind. That if this was a trap then someone had to be on the outside in case they were caught.

No one was going to miss the opportunity to finally get this bastard and make him pay.

Luthor started to stand and Mick raised his hands. The fire around them heating up the room instantly.

"Don't move asshole."

"Don't worry Mr. Rory, I haven't got any weapons hidden up my sleeve." Luthor pulled a small notecard out of his jacket pocket. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I…"

"You really think we are just going to sit here an listen to you talk you sick…" Snart put a hand on Mick's arm. Stopping the pyro's forward momentum. Snart raised an eyebrow at Luthor, then waved a hand for him to continue. Luthor gave a gracious nod.

"I am certain by now, most of you have seen the footage coming out of Central City. The devastation caused by a collection of metahumans with powers similar to the serial killer Kyle Nimbus. It is with a heavy heart that I must state that these metas were created by LuthorCorp."

"Damn son, if we had known you were just going to like straight up confess to everything we would have bum rushed you ages ago."

"He isn't confessing." Axel turned at Cold's words. Looking up from his tablet with confusion.

"But he's telling them it's his fault. I mean, like, that's pretty much a slam dunk for us."

"Dillon. She influenced all of us, and confessed to influencing Luthor as well. Kid Flash heard her, and can corroborate our story. Has already started telling everyone he knows. And since he is exactly the type of do-gooder who wouldn't lie to the cops, she will take the fall for everything."

"I must admit Mr. Snart. For a high school drop out, you can be unexpectedly clever."

"How the hell is he going to blame it on Dillon? She didn't build a whole bunch of freaks in a basement."

"No, Mr. Walker. However, I met with Ms. Dillon, while she was still in custody. I met with all of the metahumans that my company was going to de-power. Part of my public outreach, I wanted to make sure they understood the procedure, the risks associated with it. There are many visitor logs and videos that can corroborate that this was a normal occurrence for me. My meeting with her was three days before the prison break that released her and Mr. Scudder. Her powers must not have been fully contained when I went to visit. And since no one, not even the Flash, knew her powers could work like that. Well, it's all very unfortunate.…"

Luthor didn't smile, Roy wasn't certain the man even could. But there was something in his eyes. A glint of some sort of emotion. Not happiness. Just…satisfaction at a job well done.

"My story will add credence to yours. Yours will no longer be the last grasp of desperate criminals, it will be backed by a reputable business man, one of your greatest detractors. As I have led the push for your capture, my corroboration of your claims will give them the greatest weight. And since you already told the cops and the Flash about Dillon, and I had no prior knowledge of that, when I go to the press it will confirm it in the police's mind that Dillon is completely to blame. It's called synergy."

"It's calling being a worthless piece of shit."

"Of course Mr. Rory, I could always say that I don't believe your story. That I don't believe Ms. Dillon is capable of causing people to become paranoid and turn on one another. I would take some…inconvenient harassing by the police and the federal government. Might cost me a great deal of money. I might even spend a few months in jail. But I would come through it, just as wealthy and influential as ever. Tell me, Mr. Snart, how do you think your little group would fair under police protection?"

"You think we aren't going to kill you? That you're going to walk away from this. You killed all those people in Metropolis, you…"

"Shawna."

Shawna stopped talking, but the anger was still burning through her. Roy put a hand on her arm. Not to restrain her, but to remind her. They all wanted a piece of Luthor. It wouldn't be fair for her to just drop him out a window and leave nothing for the rest of them. She glanced back at him for a moment, then stepped back slightly.

Luthor kept his focus solely on Snart.

"That's my offer Mr. Snart. I'll tell the world that Ms. Dillon caused me to turn my altruism into horrific experiments. And you and your little group will get that absolution that the cops will no doubt offer you. In light of all these now false charges, not to mention how many times they tried to kill you outside the realm of proper police procedure, they won't have much of a choice. If you need a good civil rights attorney, I can recommend a few. You could sue them for a hefty sum if you play your cards right."

"How are you going to explain Metropolis? That was months before you supposedly met with Dillon."

"Well, that's up to you. It can go one of two ways. You can either go with Option A and say that you met Dillon and Scudder prior to Metropolis and she managed to influence you all then. Though that would be difficult to explain, as to why it took so long for you all to figure out what she had done. Or why you didn't turn on one another sooner. Not to mention you would then still be responsible ultimately for what happened. At least in the minds of the public. No matter how much she manipulated you. Or. Option B."

"And what, pray tell is option B?"

"Simple. I wasn't influenced by Dillon at that time. But she was in constant interaction with prison guards and doctors. Mandatory shrink visits. Even janitors and other members of the prison. I can have doctored paperwork created showing that a few of the psychiatrists were also Cadmus employees. That they created this trap for the Rogues as a sort of experiment influenced by Ms. Dillon. She was manipulating all of them from the beginning. Her hatred of you in particular Mr. Snart will lead credence to this. It was revenge that motivated her. And seeing as she just tried to do it again in Central, well that's a pattern isn't it. Easy enough for the unwashed masses to understand."

"Dillon's the scapegoat for all of it."

"Yes, and with her recent insanity, well it isn't likely she will be able to tell her side of the story now is it?"

Jesus.

Dillon was a piece of shit, sure. But Roy wasn't sure she deserved this.

"Got it all figured out, all nicely wrapped up just waiting for the public to swallow it all whole."

"The truth is what I tell people it is. I have that kind of money. I own enough newspapers and tv conglomerates that they will hear only what I think they need to."

"What about Scudder?"

"What about him?"

"How does he factor into this?"

"He's of no consequence. Once I have located him and Ms. Dillon, their powers will be removed. Then they will both be sent back to prison. Though I can't imagine the other prisoners will allow the two of them much peace. All things considered."

Luthor would remove their powers, then pay someone to kill them in prison so no one would ever be able to refute his story.

How long would Luthor wait until he sent someone to kill the Rogues to keep them from talking?

If Roy was thinking that, Snart had to be.

"So what's it going to be Mr. Snart? Your pride, some ridiculous need for revenge, or your so-called family?"

The rest of the Rogues watched as Snart continued to glare at Luthor. Snart was no longer lounging by Luthor's desk. His nonchalance now replaced with a familiar stance. His hand on his gun, his back rigid. It was the one he adopted moments before battle.  
"Screw this…"

Surprisingly, it wasn't Cold that grabbed Mick's hand. It was Axel. Thought the kid looked just as surprised by his action as Mick was.

"Let go of my hand punk."

"Easy man, it's cool. I'm cool, we're cool. It's just, you know, I'm like…not wanting to die of acrid smoke inhalation you know?"

"What?"

"Like don't get me wrong. Seeing an android's face melt off is definitely on my list of top ten things I want to see in real life before I die. I really, really want it to be exactly like the end scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark where the Nazis are all…"

"Android."

"Yea." Axel looks around at all of them. "What, seriously? Dudes. Guys. Gals. Buddies. Friends. Compadres…"

"Axel…"

"That's not a person. Like it's super convincing and shit and I want to rip it open and play with its insides for the rest of my life. Sort like I did with my first Furby before I realized Furbys were really demons sent to kill all of humanity. And there was nothing inside of them but black ichor and the screams of the innocent. But that's totally not really Luthor. Come on, I can't be the only one who can tell."

Luthor actually looked surprised for a moment. And perhaps more disturbingly, suddenly very interested in Axel.

"Well done Mr. Walker. Tell me, what gives it away? I've used this vessel in meetings with some of the most brilliant minds in the industry and even under body scanners they haven't been able to tell it wasn't truly me."

"Like I'm going to tell you bro."

Lisa was standing only a foot or so from Luthor. Staring at the man intently.

"That's why we never saw you do anything interesting in Scudder's mirrors. You were using this just in case anyone was watching."

"I've found that decoys are a remarkable way to get things done without people asking too many questions. Always good to have a solid alibi on camera. And it makes surviving surprise attacks a bit easier."

"So even if we had just destroyed the entire building..."

"I'm not even in the same country as you Mr. Mardon. Though I would hope even you aren't so foolish as to try and prove you aren't terrorist, by destroying a building. Though considering your track record, that wouldn't be much of a surprise. Now. I'm a businessman Mr. Snart, and I don't have the time to make proposals twice. What is your answer?"

Snart hadn't moved from his stance. His hand still firmly on his gun. His glance hadn't changed, but the way Lisa was looking at him made Roy think he had missed something.

"Len …"

"We accept. You create the scapegoats. All the paperwork showing that Cadmus scientists were behind what happened in Metropolis."

"And…"

"And the Rogues agree to never directly attack or contradict your statements."

"All of the Rogues?"

Roy remembers the fight it was to keep Mark from attacking the cops. Knows Lisa still intends to kill the Flash if she gets the chance.

Roy even feels himself have to control the burning in his eyes.

Forgive and forget wasn't in their nature. How the hell did Snart think he was going to keep them away?

"All of us."

"Perfect. I'll have it done by the end of the day."

It was a dismissal. As though Luthor was just conducting another business meeting. As if he didn't put the Rogues through hell for months. Like he hadn't killed hundreds of people in the last year. Hadn't tried to destroy all of Central City just so no one would question his power.

Maybe this wasn't anything other than an ordinary day for him. He was a billionaire. Destroying people's lives was basically the job description.

Roy's eyes were burning behind his shades. He wondered if his powers would even work on an android. If he could get to Luthor through…

"Shawna. Let's go."

"Pleasure doing business with you Mr. Snart."

By the time they were back in the safe house, Roy's powers were still active. He could feel the black veins around his eyes pulsing.

Mark put a hand on his shoulder.

If Mark was being more reasonable than he was, Roy really needed to calm down.

He focused on taking a few breaths. Digger already had a bottle of whiskey out and was passing it around. Lisa was looking at her brother, not with confusion but with slight disapproval. The fact that she wasn't angrier helped to calm him a bit as well. There must be something he missed. There had to be a plan, something more than…than whatever the hell that was.

The tension in the room was thick.

Mark took his hand off of Roy's shoulder and grabbed the whiskey from Digger. He took a swig then focused on Snart.

"I like to think I've gotten calmer over the past few years…"

"Debatable Mardon."

"You'll notice I didn't just open a tornado in the middle of that asshole's office."

"I did notice that. I'm thinking of giving you Rogue of the Month for it. It includes a ten dollar bonus in your next paycheck, and a nice parking spot right by the door to the safe house."

"What the hell was that Snart? We're just going to shake hands and walk away? That's the big plan?"

"Of course not. But, I had been thinking about what Digger said."

Digger started paying attention to the conversation at the mention of his name. He was the only one who hadn't seemed that disturbed by Snart's choice.

"Me? Since when does anyone listen to me?"

Shawna took the whiskey from Mark, then pulled on Roy's arm until he followed her to the couch. She was smiling, but Roy could see the tension in her eyes. Roy felt his powers finally dissipate.

"Yea boss man, listening to Digger is a surefire way to get arrested or injured. Sometimes both."

"Harkness said that even the esteemed Ms. Waller would know when she couldn't beat someone with more power than her. And it made me realize, that the only way to beat Luthor was to let him win."

"Feels like the opposite of winning here boss."

"Precisely. What Luthor doesn't know is that while we were all distracting him. Rathaway was uploading a Trojan Horse into LuthorCorp servers. One that will track anything he does for the foreseeable future, including recording that little conversation." Lisa took the whiskey from Shawna, then handed it to her brother.

"So when he changes all those documents…"

"We will have concrete proof that he was responsible. Or at the very least, culpable in what happened in Metropolis. And when Ms. West adds that information to her article, well..."

"You agreed that the Rogues wouldn't go against him. And since Hartley isn't technically a Rogue, and neither is Iris…"

"We are keeping up our end of the deal."

"Still want to roast him."

Mick growled from the corner, his gauntlets were off. Something that Roy found himself grateful for.

Mick hadn't said anything to him about what happened when Roy used his powers on him. But then again, Roy had been steadfastly avoiding the man as much as possible. Mick didn't seem inclined to want to talk about it. So Roy was going to let it go. The tried and true method of dealing with tension amongst the Rogues.

Ignoring it.

"A promise is a promise Mick. And I swore that you would get to light that man on fire. But in order to do that, we need to find him first." Snart looked towards Axel. The kid was pulling some kind of flash drive out of one of his many pockets.

"Which I am totes going to do. I mean, maybe not this exact second, because like I mean, I was just doing all kinds of stuff and hacking takes a lot of effort and I don't feel like people appreciate how hungry you get…"

"Take your time kid. Just make it sweeter when I finally watch him burn."

Axel flopped down into a nearby chair. He took the whiskey Snart handed him, poured a bit into an open Mountain Dew can mixed in some pop rocks, then handed the bottle to Mick.

"Cool. Cause I've got some ideas on how to track him but I gotta figure out how many of those androids he's got and how he's controlling them."

"His use of those as an alibi can be how we get to him. If he's giving a speech in New York, then there's no way we could be torturing him to death in Paris."

"I love it when you talk devious, boss. Really gets me going."

"Keep it in your pants Harkness." Lisa barely spared Digger a glance, turning instead towards her brother. Shawna nudged Roy in the side and raised her eyebrows, nodding towards Lisa and Digger. Roy was certain from her look of exasperation, that his face portrayed his confusion. He had no idea what she was trying to say.

"So…just to be certain brother dear. Your plan is to play nice with the cops, the Flash, Rathaway, and Luthor."

"That is the plan sis."

"Then when everyone's back to thinking of us like a couple of idiot bank robbers who got caught up in the master plan of an evil genius, we hunt him down and make him suffer slowly until he is begging for Mick to set him on fire."

"That is the Cliff Notes version. Yes."

Lisa held her brother's eyes for a moment longer.

"Sounds like a plan. I'm going to go take a shower, try to wash the last of this hair dye out. Blondes don't have nearly as much fun as people think in my experience."

Lisa sauntered out of the room, ignoring her brother's bemused look. He glanced back towards the rest of the Rogues. Focusing on Mick first.

"Mick."

"You keep your promises Snart. You say I'll get to burn him, then I'll get to burn him. Can wait a little longer for it."

"Mardon."

"Going to need something else to keep myself occupied Snart. I hope you don't intend for us to sit around and do nothing until Axel locates him."

"Of course not. There's still Scudder to contend with. Not to mention there are a few of Luthor's facilities that I think could stand to be…damaged by some natural occurrences. Nothing too overt. A bit more flooding than was predicted. Slightly stronger winds. I want him to suspect it's us, but not be able to prove it. We need to keep him distracted. He already thinks you will go against me and attack him. Let's make him think this is your way of getting back at him without breaking our deal."

"Any facilities you got in mind?"

Snart spent the next hour or so outlining the next steps in his plan. Stealing things from Luthor he would notice were gone, but wouldn't understand why the Rogues were taking. Make him think they were building up towards an attack on him.

At one point, Roy found his mind drifting. He was staring at Snart's cold gun. The man had taken to carrying it around with him again. Training with it, instead of his powers. Was it fear of his powers? Did he think that something like what happened in Metropolis could happen again?

Or was it simply another way for Captain Cold to throw his enemies off balance. Make them think his powers had been removed, focus on his gun, then freeze them when they thought they had the upper hand.

Maybe it was a combination of both.

Maybe he just liked the damn thing.

Roy realized he hadn't heard a word of what anyone was saying for the past ten minutes. He stood up from the couch swaying only slightly. He noticed there were five or six empty whiskey bottles on the ground. When did that happen? Shawna gave him an amused smile, patting him lightly on the arm as he started to walk away. She would fill him in on what he missed later. He walked out of the living room and headed towards his bedroom. He closed the door slightly, only being able to barely hear Digger and Mick argue over…something.

He didn't have any paintings sitting on the easel currently. He had finally taken the scenery of the Italian village down and placed it against the wall. It was by no means finished of course, but he had been sick of staring at it. He did need to finish that at some point, he was certain now he would be able to see what he had missed before.

He left the landscape where it was. He didn't want to paint the past.

He put a blank canvas on the easel and picked up his paints.

The scene didn't come to him at first. He added a brush stroke here or there, with no real thought to what he was creating. Then his hands began to move more quickly. Focused.

He could see it now.

The buildings began to take shape, the familiar heights providing a fullness to an oddly blank space in the foreground.

Central City.

But it was not the focus. It was only the backdrop. The thing by which the size and scope of the real subject could be judged. Such a thing was needed to establish lines and angles. Proportion and scale.

It was a monster. Rising up from the depths. Long tentacles breaking through the concrete.

Or was it roots? Branching out from a tree growing downwards instead of up. Thriving on the darkness, it's leaves like eyes in the sewers.

He stepped back for a moment. It looked a bit like both. And neither. There was no malevolence if it was a monster. But there was nothing natural if it was a tree.

A tree monster.

He really stares at it for at least another minute. What the hell was that thing? Why was he painting a tree monster?

He had just painted a B-Movie poster, which wasn't what he had intended. It was…it was supposed to be something else. Something important or…profound or something.

How the hell much had he had to drink?

He rubbed his eyes and went to sit on his bed only to find it occupied.

Mark was smirking, he tipped his almost empty bottle of whiskey towards the painting.

"I like it."

"Shut up."

Roy sat down on the bed, Mark barely moving to make room for him. He did have the decency to offer him a drink. Which Roy gladly took. He eyed the painting again.

"They can't all be masterpieces."

"What? Are you kidding? That's probably the only one I actually like."

"I don't know why it turned out like that."

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"You don't see it?"

"You're an art critic now?"

"Spent the last four years or so around you, something must be rubbing off. See the way that branch is like by that building? That's symbolism and shit."

Roy rolled his eyes. The room continued to move a few moments after he completed that action and thought it would be best if he didn't do that again for a little while.

"Symbolism and shit."

"I'm serious."

"You're drunk."

"Can be both."

Roy leaned back against the wall, mimicking Mark's relaxed position. Their shoulders brushing against one another.

"Enlighten me then. How can something that looks like it belongs on the cover of an HP Lovecraft novel have…symbolism that even the artist doesn't see?"

"Because the artist, can be a pretentious douche bag from time to time."

"That's a big word for you. And you pronounced it correctly too."

"And I'm even a little drunk!"

That elicited a small laugh from Roy. Guess they were all a little drunk tonight. Not quite a celebration. Not a victory, not yet.

More like…they weren't getting beaten to death any more. Sure they're still lying on the ground, bleeding all over the place.

But the blows weren't coming. The unending, relentless attacks. They'd stopped, of course they could start back up any second. But for a moment, they could just breathe.

"I'm going to throw up on your bed."

"I will kill you."

"No you won't."

"I would feel bad about it afterwards. But I would do it."

"If mind control or whatever the shit Dillon's powers were couldn't make us do it, don't think it's ever going to happen now."

"Hm."

Mark bumped against Roy's shoulder.

"Ever think it'd end up like this?"

Mark wasn't talking about the painting. Or the situation with Dillon and Scudder. Or even Luthor.

He was talking about something much more important.

Something more…permanent.

"No."

Mark smiled slightly. A slight hint of disbelief in his features.

"Yea. Me neither."

Roy felt a smile spread across his face. He leaned his head back against the wall and let his shoulder rest against Mark's.

Whatever they were now, criminals, ex-terrorists, villains. Super-villains. Whatever they were called, it wasn't just some random group. Some job they'd move on from some day. Some temporary point in their lives that they would one day look back on fondly.

They were the Rogues.

And now they all knew. There was no longer any doubt.

That was what they would always be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that’s the end. Not just of the story, but of the series. I think I put off writing this chapter for so long because I knew it would be the last.  
> The only other vague, nebulous idea I had for another one was to send them all to the prison planet from the Salvation Run comic. But if horror movies have taught me anything it’s that when you are at the fifth in a series and your only idea is to send all the characters to space, you have to ask yourself if you’ve jumped the shark. Not to mention I would have to include every single villain from the Arrowverse into the story, and I just don’t think I have the time to figure all that out.  
> Thanks to everyone who read it all. I never intended this series to go past Debt, and originally that story was only supposed to be three chapters long. I really enjoyed writing it and appreciate all the comments and kudos. Especially those who commented on each chapter. You kept me motivated when I convinced myself that no one was reading this monster.  
> I don’t know if I’ll write any more in this universe or fandom but I do appreciate how great everyone has been. I’m going to try and writer shorter fics for awhile, mainly to see if I even remember how to do that.  
> Thanks again.


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